Naruto: Alone
by Arganaut
Summary: The meeting between the council and Sarutobi did not go as planned.... how will Naruto survive growing up without the help of the Third?
1. Chapter 1

Naruto: Alone...

This is another idea over my month long break in December. It has just been taking up space in my head for weeks now, so I figured might as well type it out, see where it goes. This story starts off right after the Kyuubi attack, in the middle of a meeting between the council and the Sandaime. The pairing will eventually, a LONG eventually perhaps, be NaruxHina.

Please do tell me if this is a good idea.

So let the story of Naruto: Alone begin!!!

Chapter 1: The Meeting On His Life

Sarutobi was rubbing his temples as he stood in front of the many clan heads that made up the council of Konoha. Hours earlier, the great Kyuubi no Yoko, a nine tailed demon fox, had attacked his village of Konoha. It was unknown what warranted such an attack from the greatest of the Biju, but what was certain was the immenent threat it posed on Konoha's citizens. Sarutobi at the time of the attack, had been retired, albeit a short time, having left the title of Hokage to his succesor, or now predeccesor, the Yondaime Hokage.

The Yondaime had went off to kill the beast himself, taking with him a small child, who's umbilical cord had just been cut, to the battle field where the Kyuubi was being held at bay by the many ninja of Konoha. He had used a complex sealing jutsu on the beast, sealing it within the small child. Though he had saved the village, it had cost him his life, therefore Sarutobi had to once again take up the position of Hokage, despite his old age.

After the ninja were brought back in from the battle field, and the citizens informed of what happened that night. Many wept for the Yondaime's death, but others were simply angered that their leader had been taken away so suddenly. Sarutobi then told them about Naruto, how his body had been used to seal the fox, and about how Yondaime had wished him to be recognized as a hero, for keeping the demon within his belly, away from the citizens...

...The reaction he received... was not one he was expecting...

The citizen's of Konoha suddenly turned from a mourning crowd, into an angry mob in an instant. Immediately they were calling for the death of the young child, asking for his blood in exchange for what had happened to their leader. Sarutobi was shocked, and when the citizen's began raising weapons, and trying to get passed the Chunin blocking their way, Sarutobi withdrew from the crowd, into the council's room. A meeting would take place to decide the fate of the child...

... Once again... things did not go as Sarutobi had hoped...

When he entered the council's room, there were icy cold glares fired towards the boy, as well as massive amount of killer intent from many ninja clan heads. Sarutobi had to force himself to repress a shiver from going up and down his spine. He may have been Hokage, but he could not stop an entire room filled with angry clan heads from attacking the boy. Sarutobi laid the boy down in a crib not far from where he stood, and then turned to face the council.

The meeting was called to order, and immediately clan heads were asking for the boy's blood. "Order, order!" Sarutobi shouted as he finally got his migraine under control. The entire room became silent as Sarutobi rubbed his temples before continuing. "Now then, this meeting has been called to discuss the fate of Naruto Uzumaki, the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi! During this meeting, as in the others, we will have order! The floor is open for suggestions." Sarutobi said, but he knew what would be said.

"This meeting shouldn't even be necessary! It is obvious what we should do! Kill the demon now before it gets a second chance!" Tsume Inuzuka, head of the Inuzuka clan, shouted as there were several cheers and shouts of agreement along with her.

"Killing a child would be meaningless if it never posed a threat. On top of that, we never questioned the ability and knowledge of Yondaime-sama before, and to believe now that he would lead us astray in his final act of sacrifice would be us placing an insult upon his grave, on top of an already barbaric act." Shikaku Nara, head of the Nara clan, shouted as there were few shouts of agreement accompanying him. Sarutobi sighed in relief, at least there were those that were willing to listen to him.

"While killing a child is a barbaric act, we cannot discount it in this case. While Yondaime-sama was indeed skilled, and he would not lead us down the wrong path, its not beyond reason to think that something, just something, may have gone awry, whether it be that the seal is too weak to hold the fox for long, or perhaps the Kyubi has managed to take control of the boy. Whatever the case, these possible detractions outweigh possible benefits that I can foresee, thus the option of solving the problem before it begins must be kept on the table." Shibi Aburame stated calmly as others shouted agreements, many could barely hear him over the sound of the other members. Sarutobi had just about as much as he could take. With the shouting, the head ache, and now even the unbearable distaste he felt towards the clan heads who could not put faith in his succesor/predecessor, he had it.

"Silence!" Sarutobi shouted as the entire room became eerily quite. None have ever heard the Hokage shout like that, at least none who have lived to tell about it (or have been scared shitless). Sarutobi rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to release the pent up stress entering him. Suddenly Fugaku Uchiha, father of Itachi, and current leader of the Uchiha clan, rose from his seat.

"Hokage-sama, it is out of the utmost respect that I will say this to you." Fugaku said as the aged Hokage stared at him. "For the safety of my clan, not only them but the entire village, I implore you to end this abomination's life." Fugaku stated firmly as many joined right in with him.

"You may implore and ask until you are out of breath Fugaku-san, but I will not allow this child to be slain." Sarutobi returned, Fugaku's anger flickering across his face as he stared the aged Kage down..

"How far are you willing to go to protect this monstrosity's life Hokage-sama? Because I can ensure you that I am prepared to go just as far, and farther, in order to ensure the safety of this village, and to end this thing's life." Fugaku said in a tense manner, as, suddenly, the entire room fell silent. Had Fugaku just implied, knowingly or unconsciously, that he would, should this meeting decide to allow the fox-child to live, go against this wish and then go forward on his own to strike out at the boy.

Yet, soon enough, the silence was overcome by noise. This noise, for the most part, was of approval, as other clans and minor houses began to join in with Fugaku, and by extension, the Uchiha Clan. Though shouts of disgust or disapproval quickly followed, it was not enough to drown out the shouts for the boy's blood. Sarutobi slowly looked across the room, first noticing Shibi's sudden lack of movement. The Aburame seemed to glance at Sarutobi, and then look away for a moment, perhaps realizing that 'his' side of the arguement had just gotten out of hand. The Inuzuka matriarch, Tsume, quickly joined in with Fugaku, and the minor houses quickly followed up.

Sarutobi also quickly noted that, amongst those withh im and against Fugaku, were the Nara, Akimichi and Yamanaka clans, the loyalty of the three lifting Sarutobi's confidence a bit. At one last glance, Sarutobi looked over to the Hyuga patriarch, Hiashi, and noticed that he was merely sitting there, staring blankly as almost every Hyuga Sarutobi new had. Sarutobi knew that Hiashi wouldn't join in on his side... or Fugaku's for another. The Hyuga Main House, Sarutobi was sure of, would be very much for getting rid of Naruto... on the otherhand, they'd be disgusted with possibly being on the same side as the Uchiha Clan. A neutral stance would be the best way to keep the Main House from fighting within itself.

With the Uchiha clan, Inuzuka clan, a... less than fully supportive Aburame clan, and many of the smaller houses, threatening to take action into their own hands, with only the Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka clans supporting Sarutobi, with the Hyuga standing outside the battle as a neutral power, Sarutobi knew that this would be a battle that no one would win, especially so soon after the devastation struck. Sarutobi had effectively been boxed in by the outrage of both sides of this arguement... to get out, he'd have to do something he knew he'd regret... he'd have to make a compromise that would, somehow, placate both.

"Silence!!!!" Sarutobi shouted, even louder this time, as everyone sat there and stared again. You could taste the fear generating off of some of the clan heads. Sarutobi sighed as he began. "In order to solve this... I will compromise." Sarutobi said as everyone sat down, waiting to here this compromise. "I will be creating a law, as of today, that will forbid the mention of the sealing of Kyuubi into Naruto to anyone of his generation!" Sarutobi began, raising his hand to quell any potential outrage.

"However... Naruto Uzumaki... will live as any orphan in Konoha. He will be sent to an orphanage in the village... and what happens to him afterwards..." Sarutobi began saying before the opposing sides began smirking, and the side that were with Sarutobi began grimacing. "I will not be able to interfere with whatever happens to him." Sarutobi said as the entire room fell silent, with those having supported Sarutobi sitting there, their jaws falling open. Even Hiashi Hyuga looked on in shock. "What say you Fugaku?" Sarutobi asked, placing the ball into the Uchiha Clan Head's court.

Fugaku sat in his seat and contemplated the deal... out on the street, without the protection of the Hokage, the child was as within the reach of the Uchiha Clan, through its Police Force, as any other person in the village. Should the little thing get out of line, he would know about it within mere minutes, and be able to act upon it in seconds. In his mind, Fugaku also knew that Sarutobi knew this... which meant the old man was just doing whatever he could to keep the kid alive. The realization wouldn't miss the other Shinobi gathered either... which meant that he, and his clan, could relish in the political victory of getting Sarutobi to place the boy on the edge of his fingers. With a small smirk forming upon his lips, Fugaku looked up at the aged Kage and nodded.

"You have my vote for this measure, Sandaime-sama." Fugaku said in a faux polite manner, those having sided with him quickly following up behind him. Sarutobi looked at the other members, whom, somewhat reluctantly, gave a nod of affirmation themselves.

"The motion passes, the laws are in place. With all business finished, this meeting of the council is adjourned." Sarutobi said, ending the meeting as soon as possible. As the clan members left, Sarutobi just sighed as he began walking back to his office. He would have to find an orphanage for Naruto that would, at the very least, take minimal care of him...

The years to come would be hell for Naruto Uzumaki... and for now there was nothing Sarutobi could do about it...

Three and a Half Years Later - Hokage Tower

'I hate it when I'm right...' Sarutobi thought as he stared at his crystal ball. Naruto's life up to that point had been, for a lack of a better word, been pure hell. While he was successful in preventing any of the adults from telling Naruto, or telling other children, of his identity as the Kyubi's carrier... he wasn't nearly as successful as keeping people from 'sticking it' to him, through either outright ignoring the child, or through other, sometimes somewhat violent, means. As Hokage, he could dissuade people from these violent actions by enforcing existing laws, but he could do little more than that. His compromise had tied his hands behind his back, requiring Sarutobi to only assist Naruto in the manners in which current law would allow... which just basically meant fining and punishing people for their actions whenever they would occur.

Today, however, he witnessed an action in his crystal ball that nearly caused him to swallow his pipe whole. The Orphanage, after having 'put up' with Naruto for the past few years, tossed the boy out on his rear. Now, he merely watched as Naruto wandered the street, the poor child looking... confused, dismayed... absolutely destroyed. Sarutobi sighed as he leaned his head against his hand.

'One of the worst decisions I've made, no doubt...'

Streets of Konoha

'What did I do wrong...' Naruto thought as he wandered down the street, confused as he kept his head down. 'Was it something I said?' The young blond added as the clouds began rolling in over head, the blond not noticing as he just continued moving right along.

Naruto walked around the streets, looking up to meet the glares of the villagers with his own eyes. 'Why do they hate me so much...' Naruto thought as the wind blew and Naruto began hugging himself to keep warm, his hands running up and down his arms. Naruto's life in Konoha was... terrible to be completely honest. No one would allow him into their shops, but what was he going to buy, he had no money, no one gave him food, no one gave him money, and no one gave him a home...

Suddenly lightning flew through the air, and Naruto ducked down, covering his head with his hands, and cowering from the lightning. After a while the lightning picked up, and so did the winds. Naruto was beginning to shiver more, from cold, and from fear of the lightning. He tried to run into a clothing store for shelter... only to be chased out by a woman with a broomstick. Naruto ran out, and fell over onto the street, sitting there for a moment... before another bolt of lightning scared the young boy into crawling right into an adjacent alley

And at the point where Naruto believed that things could not get any worse, it began to rain. Naruto's eyes began to well up with tears, and those tears began to mix and mingle with the rain as he took an abrupt turn into an alley. Maybe he could find a nice box to keep him a little dry, or a little warm. Naruto walked through the several alleys, eventually he found the entrance to one he did not believe he had seen before. These was a large shaw thing covering the entrance of the alley (like how those cloth things do to some shops) and it was eerily silent on the other side of the shaw. There were kanji on the shaw, but Naruto was unable to read themm, so he passed right through the cloth entrance, coming upon a big, empty lot.

Of course, this lot had not always been empty. During the 3rd Ninja War, while many of Konoha's ninja were out fighting the good fight against other ninja villages, crime began to flourish inside of the Hidden Village. At first it was rather simple crime: petty thieving, pickpocketing, the tiny things that could happen on a weekly basis. However, without the large amount of ninja in Konoha ready to patrol the city, what was small crime slowly turned into large crime: small groups of thugs were getting together to rob entire stores blind, assaults on the few ninja inside of the city began to grow, and small extortion rackets were beginning to build.

Out of this crime grew a small syndicate, a group of criminals assembled from Shinobi returning from the war front, injured. The empty lot Naruto stood in was a former hideout: while in its current state it was just a lowly lot, back during the height of organized crime in Konoha this was the place to be: secluded from the main streets, and somewhat hidden in what had become the twist and turns of Konoha's urban sprawl, it was a good place to duck away for a while.

However, when Konoha's full forces returned at the end of the war, crime was immediately crushed under the thumb of the Shinobi, and the syndicate dissolved. Of course, little Naruto was unaware of this. All he knew was this was some place somewhat shielded from the drafty winds, and seemed pretty deserted. A good place to rest. So, Naruto did just that, the young boy walked up towards one of the walls, picking up an old rag to go along with him, not noticing the small metal object falling from the same rag, and laid himself down beside the building, slowly nodding off into a shallow sleep.

The Next Morning

By the time the sun rose, Naruto's small stomach was already roaring in protest at its lack of nourishment, as it did nearly every morning. This, somewhat suddenly, woke the small boy up, as he yawned and rubbed his eyes. Naruto had actually been very surprised to have slept so long and so completely, often times the shouts from a random adult, or just the shere cold waking him up several times in the early morning. Still, this mattered little to the poor blond boy, as his stomach still roared. So, Naruto stood up, laid the rag down, and began walking.

As he took his small steps, the street orphan accidentally kicked something, sending it stumbling across the lot. Naruto looked at what he kicked, and was wide-eyed and surprised to find a metal kunai, rusted as it may have been, laid right there. Naruto had never really been so close to a ninja weapon before, though he had seem some of the ninja carrying them. Naruto wandered over to the small metal weapon and picked it up, stuffing it into his pocket. Who would know if he would need it or not.

After his small discovery, the blond orphan went garbage can diving for almost an hour, not even finding an old shoe for him to chew on. Naruto's stomach let out another loud growl, and Naruto clasped it and began crying again. He sniffled a little bit, trying to keep the mucus from coming out, when all of a sudden an aroma came to his nose. Naruto smelt the air several times before drool began coming out of his mouth. He began following the sweat smell to the streets of Konoha, right up to the Konoha Bakery. Naruto looked at what he had been smelling that entire time... a fresh loaf of bread.

Naruto stared at that bread with wanting eyes, a loaf of bread may not seem much to most, but to Naruto Uzumaki, it looked like the best meal a person could ever have. Naruto began walking towards the bakery, ignoring the hated looks from most of the people, and walked right into the bread store. Naruto walked right up to the counter and looked at the bread with lustful eyes. He was then hit on the head with a broom. "Get out of here, demon, I don't have time to deal with you." The baker said as he walked into a back room.

On any other day, Naruto would've listened, on any other day Naruto would've walked out the door of the shop, obeying the person no matter how bad they were. But today... Naruto's young mind couldn't care less about what the baker said. Naruto didn't care about him, he didn't care about that the baker didn't want him here. The blond was the hugriest he had ever been, and he was going to eat. Naruto glanced around quickly for anyone watching, and when he saw the coast was clear, he quickly grabbed the loaf of bread and ran out.

The baker walked out of the room, and saw the bread was gone. He ran out to see Naruto run down the street, and he got pissed. "Hey someone stop that kid! He stole my bread!!!" The baker shouted as several Chunin looked up. Theft, even for a small loaf of bread, was a crime in Konoha. However, most Chunin wouldn't allow themselves to chase down such a minor theft, most of the time it'd just be Genin who'd pick up the tab. However, seeing a mess of blond hair and whiskers quickly changed the surrounding Chunin's minds.

They quickly began running down the street, chasing Naruto like a dog would chase a cat with its food in its jaws. Naruto looked back and saw the Chunin chasing him, and he began running even faster. Though he was running as fast as he could, the Chunin were catching up fast. Naruto began thinking, thinking of what he could possibly do to get away, when suddenly a thought hit him. Naruto reached into his sleeve and pulled out the kunai. He looked back to see the Chunin approaching, and he threw the kunai in a random direction towards them.

Fortunetly for Naruto, fate seemed to like him today. The kunai, flew through the air, into the ground, and that ground was right where the Chunin in front of the rest was about to step. He stepped on the kunai, and then tripped over, causing his fellow Chunin to fall over him. They all laid their on the ground, and watched as Naruto Uzumaki got away with his breakfast for the day. Naruto made it back to the empty lot and began eating the bread ferverously.

Meeting Room

"This is an outrage!" One council member shouted. "You have to do something!!!" Another shouted. The council of Konoha and Sarutobi were back in the meeting room they had occupied three and a half years earlier. News had gotten around of how Naruto Uzumaki had stolen a piece of bread and had gotten away. The council members who had wanted Naruto dead were furious about this, while the others who had wanted him alive were just sitting there, not really disturbed at all about this event.

Sarutobi, despite this was smiling, and when the shouting of the council members was over he looked up, and showed them his smile, creeping most of them out. "I'm sorry, but you all told me not to have anything to do with him, to treat him as a normal orphan, so that's what I'll do, let the Police take care of it." Sarutobi said smuggly as he effectively ended the meeting, causing the angry clan members to begin cursing, while the others just sat up and left.

Yes... finally things were finally happening the way he wanted them to...

Alright then guys, tell me what you all think. R&R!!!


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto: Alone...

Wow, this one is becoming popular really fast, I like that. Anyway, I got one question that was asked over and over again in the reviews, and I'm going to answer it in my response to the reviews.

Speaking of which, let's get rolling with those;

GhostOfZeon- Sorry but Naruto will not be doing that too often, or that often at all for that matter.

Harteramo- Well that's another goal of mine completed. The first one was get someone to do a spit take (done), and now I've made someone cry, awesome.

RobotPirateNinja- Yeah not exactly there pal. You see, Naruto is still unable to use the Kyuubi's chakra (Ero-sennin hasn't come around yet). Also, Naruto doesn't enjoy killing, the reaction you saw when he spat on the guy's face was merely influence from the fox's chakra, and like I said he still hasn't learnt how to use it (**I can barely wait for the next chance I get **Ring a bell?). And also, Naruto isn't the type of kid to do that. I think, in the canon, though Sarutobi did play a role in his life, it wasn't a major influence. So just wait and see what I have planned.

Wolf among sheep- Wow, a 9/10, I must be doing well.

**DragonMan180-** Well if you think about it, in some situations, it is a very logical decision to kill something before it can start trouble.

shikamaru the nerd- Maybe.. or maybe not.

Feneris the Elf- Thank you.

FictionReader98- Well I hope you like the way he comes out.

Well how's about we stop this and get on to the next chapter of Naruto: Alone!!!

Chapter 2: Sarutobi's Move

2 Years and 3 Months Later

We overlook the city of Konoha once again. After almost six years after the Kyubi's attack, Konoha's morale had recovered and its productivity increased very well. More buildings and areas that were devasted during the Kyuubi's violent attack were reconstructed or reformed. Markets were now booming, as it seemed as though war and disaster were slowly becoming a distant memory. Yes, overall Konoha improved greatly... but there was still one individual that was a thorn in the side of the Military Police and the buisness owners of Konoha.

Naruto Uzumaki, now also nicknamed by citizens of Konoha as the 'Street Fox of Konoha', has been a part of one of the largest streeks of thefts in Konoha. It all started one day, two years and three months ago the Street Fox had stolen a loaf of bread. Now ordinarily this crime is looked down upon by the Military Police, they rather use their members for higher ranked crimes. But with Naruto Uzumaki being the one stealing the bread, things changed.

In the report the Chunin who had chased Uzumaki, it read: "Though we were very close to apprehending Naruto Uzumaki, he skillfully chucked a kunai at the ground in front of us, causing us to stummble, not only over the kunai, but over each other". The embarassment that the Military Police suffered, not only from the ninja populace, but from the entire poplulation of Konoha, was great. Soon, Naruto became a part of several thefts across Konoha. Anything that he could get his hands on, that was useful to him, he got. Food, drink, books, even Shinobi equipment like kunai, shuriken, and ninja wire were not safe.

Anything outside those catagories were safe though, for it would appear that Naruto Uzumaki knew better than to go for the big stuff like clothes, ninja scrolls, explosion tags, or large amounts of money, for those things could actually land him in hot water with the Kage. Though many believe him to be nothing more than a convict, theft is the only crime one could convict him of. Crimes such as arson, homocide, genocide, breaking and entering (he would always steal during the day, when it couldn't be considered trespassing in a stores property), could not be found in his record.

Even when he would be chased by the military police, he would use only non-lethal methods to disarm, distract, or discourage a ninja, or to discontinue a chase. In fact, the only wounds a ninja would suffer would either be a scrape, a bump, or a severly injured pride. At first, Naruto could be easily caught and forced to give back what he stole, in some cases he was given several punches across the back of the head. But he never learned that lesson, and always came back to steal. And now, in recent months, he has been able to out run the Chunin who have chased him, severely injuring the pride of the shinobi.

If only one could view such a chase as an Uzumaki chase, one would be able to see the level of cunning, speed, agility, and stamina... "NARUTO UZUMAKI, GET BACK HERE!!!" Oh one appears to be starting as we speak!

Streets of Konoha

We now watch as we see Naruto Uzumaki barreling down the street, with two random Chunin chasing him, again. Naruto held in his arms a rather large loaf of bread, it would appear as though lunch time had rolled around once again for Naruto. Naruto was wearing... well very poor clothing, most of it looking like it had been gotten out of a trash can. They were, or what appeared to be, the tattered remains of a brown t-shirt, a former pair of cargo-pants, torn off at the knees, and very old wooden sandals.

As for Naruto himself, he looked like any six-year old would, well except for the bad clothes and him being 'kinda' skinny. His hygene didn't appear to be too poor, as there wasn't too much dirt and grime covering him. Though he wasn't muscular you could see little amounts of muscle, for the baby fat that should have covered him still was not there to hide the muscle. Earlier Naruto Uzumaki had snuck out of one of the alleys (how he does this out of nowhere no one knows) and into the local bakery. He then grabbed the loaf of bread he now carries and then ran out of the store, with the owner running out and screaming. "Help its the Street Fox, he has stolen from my bakery again!" This immediately brought the two Chunin who were chasing Naruto to the scene.

And now, for the rest of the chase... "Haven't you guys given up yet? You can't catch me now!!" Naruto shouted back at the two Chunin, and to aggravate them more, he began slapping his rear end, causing huge veins to show upon the two Chunin's foreheads.

"We'll get you, you little brat!!!!" One of the Chunin screamed as they both sped up. Naruto snickered as he began twisting and turning, ducking and dodging his way through the large groups of people in the street. He even went under one teenaged girl's mini skirt on an occasion.

"Nice!" Naruto shouted as the girl blushed profusely.

"HELP! PERVERT!" The girl yelled as she ran off, and the two Chunin ran after Naruto, blushing at what he did.

"That fox is gutsy..." One said while the other simply nodded along with him as they continued their chase of Naruto. Eventually they got to a very crowded street, so crowded that there was absolutely no room for Naruto to get through. "HA! We have you now Street Fo-" One of them began as Naruto leapt up into the air, and landed on top of one of the pedestrian's head, and began leaping across the large amount of civilian heads, like cobble stones in a river. "-ox?" The same Chunin finished as he stared as Naruto leapt across the group of people. The two Chunin looked at each other and shrugged as they began doing the same as Naruto, only because they were heavier most of the civilians collapsed under their weight as they leapt off.

Eventually, Naruto made it across the civilians, and ran off, the Chunin made it shortly afterwards, and sped off after him. After about five more minutes of running Naruto figured he was in the clear, so he began picking up speed, to begin the process of losing his would be convictors, when all of a sudden a third Chunin jumped in front of him, with his arms stretched open, ready to capture him. "I have you now Street Fox!" The Chunin shouted as Naruto smirked and ran right up towards him.

Naruto got within six inches of the guy and, using his leg as a pivot, spun completely around him and as he got behind him he put his foot on the third Chunin's back, and pushed off. Not only did this send Naruto off, with a little higher speed, it also sent the third Chunin foward into the other two Chunin who, figuring the third one would capture Naruto, didn't anticipate this turn of events, and they fell on each other. They all got up and sped off to try and get Naruto again, no way were they letting him get away again.

Meanwhile Kakashi Hatake, a recently retired ANBU member, walked out of a bookstore, with a melancholy grin on his face. In his left arm he held a plastic shopping bag, the contents of his small and rectangular. He walked over to a trash bin outside the bookstore, and took out the object, and slammed the bag into the can, as he brought the book up to his face and began laughing maniacally. "At last! At long last!" He said as he began crying a little. "The latest issue of Icha-Icha Paradise is mine!" Kakashi shouted as he held up the book in the air, as if it were some kind of glorious treasure.

Kakashi then leaned up against the wall of the building, flipped the book open to the first page and began reading. He was slumped up against the wall, standing as still and as silent as a statue, except for the occasional turn of the page and perverted giggle. He heard shouts coming from the end of the street and let his arm drop and he looked up to see the commotion. He watched as Naruto came barreling down the street, with the three Chunin, with patches of dirt on them from their fall, chase after them. "Hmmm. So that's what an Uzumaki chase looks like." Kakashi said as the chase flew past him and he brought his hand back up to his face...

Only to find his precious book not in it. Kakashi raised his one visible eyebrow as began looking around; he checked the ground, his other hand, around his feet, his pockets, and even began digging in the trash can for it. He then began trying to look for Genjutsu, maybe it was that Chunin Kurenai, practicing her Genjutsus on him and his books again... which annoyed Kakashi to know end that she was actually that good with a Genjutsu. Then all of a sudden, Kakashi heard Naruto start speaking, and turned to look down the street, to see Naruto Uzumaki... with his new book open.

"Hey what's this?" Naruto said as he flipped the book page. "And he cupped her precious orbs into his hands and... what's this word here?" Naruto said as he looked it over. "I can barely understand a word of this, the words are too big... oh well, it will have to due. Afterall I need something to keep the fire lit tonight." Naruto said as he closed the book, and Kakashi sweat dropping as he heard Naruto declare his book to be kindling for his fire.

Kakashi sighed as he scratched the back of his neck. "Greaaaat... I just really wanted to relax today... guess that plan's out the window for now." The silver-haired Jounin said lazily as he got down into sprinter's position, and then sped off towards the thief.

Naruto continued running from the Chunin chasing after him, though after a while he figured he should lose 'em quick. Afterall he was getting hungry, and had a book to break in. So Naruto began looking to the streets in front of him, and saw a melon cart crossing the street. Naruto smirked as he sped up, and as he was within five feet of the cart, he leaped onto the other side of the cart, bent down to pick up a melon, and then pushed off the cart, much in a similar way he did with the third Chunin.

"MY MELONS!" The owner of the cart yelled as the melons began pouring out of the cart and rolling down the street towards the Chunin. The Chunin, who were moving to fast to avoid them, tripped on some of the melons, causing them to fall into the melons, and had to watch in horror as everyone kinda pointed and laughed at the now melon covered Chunin.

"Man, we're going to get it now..." One Chunin said, know that the head of the Military Police Department was going to bite their heads off for this.

"Yeah, we'll never hear the end of this..." Another Chunin said, knowing that they were going to be teased by other ninja, members of the department, and civilians of Konoha. Then all of a sudden, Kakashi leapt over them, onto the side of the fallen cart, and leapt foward to continue the chase. "Hey wasn't that..." The Chunin said as he got up.

"Kakashi Hatake?!" The other two Chunin said as they looked on. They looked at each other and nodded, and leapt off to try and catch up, knowing that the chances of Naruto's escape were now almost next to none.

Naruto continued running down the street, the book in his left hand, the melon in his left arm, and the loaf of bread in his mouth. The corners of his lips were pointed upwards, indicating he was happy for his success in getting away from the three Chunin. He continued running until he felt a strange presence behind him, and nearly choked on the bread he held between his teeth. There was this one-eyed guy wearing a flak-jacket, chasing after him... not just chasing him, but actually catching up to him!

Naruto began panicking as he looked around for an alternative escape route, he obviously wasn't about to out manuever this guy so... 'There!' Naruto thought as he saw a ladder on the side of a building. 'There it is!' He thought again as he tossed the book into his left hand (it wasn't grasping the melon) and grabbed the rail of the ladder with his right, and began climbing at a mile a minute. Kakashi arrived just as Naruto reached the top, and with the skill only a Jonin could possess he ran up the side of the wall.

When Kakashi reached the top he looked around, expecting to see Naruto somewhere around, but he didn't. He continued scanning the rooftop till he spotted his Icha-Icha Paradise book, laying next to the ledge. Kakashi looked down at the book as his eye curved into a 'U' shape, before he walked over to pick up his book. The scarecrow picked up his book and dusted it off, before turning right back to the page he was reading. Before long, the three Chunin who had been pursuing Naruto caught up, before they also began scanning the empty roof for the blond boy.

"Kakashi-san, where is the Street Fox?" The Chunin asked as they expectantly awaited an answer from Kakashi.

Kakashi turned to them, a dead pan look in his eye as he shrugged at them. "Beats me, I lost him." Kakashi said plainly as the three Chunin sighed.

"Well... let's go back to the department then, thank you, Kakashi-san, for your help..." The first Chunin said as all three bowed to him, and then disappeared.

Kakashi stared for a moment before turning back to the ledge. "I would like to thank you for returning my Icha-Icha Paradise to me. Its the latest issue and I would've been inconvenienced to have to go out and buy it again." Kakashi said, to seemingly no one. "You know, I didn't see the entire chase, but you look like you pretty well outran those three stooges back there, and even managed to swipe my book for a bit... you'd make a pretty good ninja." Kakashi said, his eye turning towards the ledge instead of his book. "Well, enjoy the rest of the day then." Kakashi said as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

On the other side of the ledge, we see Naruto, the bread still in his mouth, and melon still in his left arm, hanging by his finger tips on a window's ledge. He was shaking slightly as he released a breath he was holding in as the Jonin left. Naruto pulled himself back up to the top of the building and then looked back down the side. He smirked as he got out a ratty old glove, with a rusted, metal plate on the back. He forced it on with his teeth and walked over to the ledge, and jumped over the ledge.

Naruto twisted his arm around, and as he fell... he grabbed a cloth hanging wire and began sliding down it. As he reached the wall he positioned his feet and legs in front of him, and they stopped him from ramming into the wall, a lesson he had to learn the hard way. He looked down to see and very old spring mattress, with several shoe prints on it, on the ground below him. He let go of the wire and fell down, landing on top of the mattress. Naruto got up off the mattress and made his way to a section of fence at the other end of the alley.

Naruto bent down, and put his lunch on both sides of him, and pulled a section of the fence out of the fence, and then grabbed his meal and walked through, placing the fence section back on as he made it through. He walked down a few alleys till he reached an opening with a familiar shaw closing it off. Naruto moved that shaw to reveal the former Red Dragon hideout. The entire hide out itself had gone over quite a bit off a change. There was no longer any dead bodies laying around, though there were still spots of blood.

In one corner, there was a small make-shift tent, made out off torn, damaged, or otherwise ruined blankets. In another there were ninja equipment, slightly rusted and blunt kunai and shuriken stacked on top of the other, and some ninja wire lay there. In the middle of the hideout there was a fire going, with two rabbits being roasted over it. You see whenever Naruto couldn't get something from the city of Konoha, he got from the woods. Whether it be food, water, or even baths (he took them in the rivers).

Naruto sat down beside the fire, and got out a kunai he had in one of his old pants pockets and cut the bread in half, and the melon in several pieces. Todays meal would be roasted rabbit sandwhich a la king, with some melon slices. Naruto stared at the meal for a little bit before bringing his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around his knees and lowering his head. He would have to repeat this same routine for lunch and dinner... like every other day in his life.

Council Meeting Room

The Hokage was smiling happily as he entered the council meeting room. It was only a few months before the beginning of the new Ninja Academy year. Many of the clan head's children were to enter this year, those included were the Uchiha, Hyuga, Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, Haruno, Aburame, and Inuzuka. The Hokage held in his wrinkled right hand, a file, and in this particular file contained several documents on one Naruto Uzumaki. If there was a time for Sarutobi to make his move, it would be right here, right now.

Sarutobi walked into the middle of the room, right into his usual spot, and smiled at the clan heads. Said smile caused shivers to go up many of the clan heads backs, the last time they saw that smile was about two years ago when he was able to slip Naruto Uzumaki out of getting in trouble for stealing the loaf of bread. If the smile was an indicator of what would soon happen, then it would not be good for them. "What is going on Hokage-sama, I thought we already went through the clearance meeting?" Shikaku said as others nodded along with him. The clearance meeting he talked about was a meeting in which a select number of children would be accepted to the Ninja Academy that year, many years, there would be too many to fit in, but this year, there were not as many as normal, so they had room.

"Well." Sarutobi said as he threw the files in front of Shikaku on his desk. "I would like to propose one more, a late entry wouldn't you know?" Sarutobi said as Shikaku raised his eyebrow and opened the folder. At first his eyes widened, but then that shortly passes as he began going through the pages that were in the file. After a while Shikaku threw the file back to Sarutobi and leaned back in his chair. "So what do you think Nara-san?" Sarutobi asked the Nara clan head looked at him.

"Well, he appears to have potential, but how can we be sure that he really could pull through?" Shikaku asked as the clan heads raised their eyebrows.

"Who?" They all asked as Sarutobi continued.

"Well I figured that the information in this folder would be enough, but if even you have your doubts Nara-san, then we may need to take an extra step, to prove his worth." Sarutobi said as the clan heads began practically leaning over their desks.

"Who?!" They all asked as Shikaku continued.

"A formal test may help Hokage-sama." Shikaku said as the Fugaku Uchiha practically leapt onto his desk.

"Who in God's name are we talking about Hokage-sama!" Fugaku shouted as the other clan heads nodded as well.

"Why Naruto Uzumaki of course, why do you ask?" Sarutobi said as an uproar of disapprovements began growing in the room. They all shouted and complained for what seemed to be hours before they all shut up and Sarutobi cleared his throat. "Are you quite done yet?" Sarutobi said as Tsume, actually, jumped on top of her desk.

"Are you crazy?! Are you actually saying that we should give that thing the training it would need to kill us all?!" Tsume shouted as there were many cheers of agreement to go along with her.

"Well Inuzuka-san, if you were to look in this folder..." Sarutobi said as he threw the folder to Tsume. "Then you would see that he has much potential as a ninja, and shouldn't it be my job to help recruit any individuals who would help strengthen Konoha's military might?" Sarutobi said as many of the clan heads began groaning. Sarutobi, the old genius, found a loop hole in the original deal. He found a damn loop hole!

Fugaku Uchiha felt trapped: as Hokage, Sarutobi had the perfect right to just go ahead and give Naruto the okay to be enrolled in the Academy... though it would come at a great cost to potential support amongst the members of the council whom were still amongst his line of thought on future efforts. Fugaku smirked, realizing that Shikaku had just helped deliver to him a path to victory.

"Hokage-sama." Fugaku said as he smiled, causing all attention to be turned to him. "Though I do not like the idea of him going to the Academy, I must agree with you, a ninja with so much potential would do well in the Academy." Fugaku said as several clan head's mouths dropped. "However, I would like to have a formal test of the boy, as Nara-san said." Fugaku said as Sarutobi turned his full attention to Fugaku. "And... I would like to have my son, Itachi, be the one testing him." Fugaku said as Sarutobi sighed and took a drag on his pipe, while other clan heads raised their eyebrows.

"Very well, Itachi Uchiha will chase Naruto Uzumaki around Konoha, keeping an eye out on various skills and abilities he may show during the chase. Once he apprehends Naruto he will bring him to me and debrief me on the test. You all will be able to listen through the intercom system. Are we agreed Uchiha-san?" Sarutobi said as Fugaku nodded.

"Very much so Hokage-sama." Fugaku said as he bowed and Sarutobi called the meeting to a close. Sarutobi watched as Itachi appeared beside his father, and Fugaku whispered something in his ear, and he nodded. Sarutobi took a drag on his pipe, and then left to cut off Itachi before he got out of the Hokage Tower.

Itachi was walking through the halls of the Hokage Tower, on his way to the exit so that he could begin to search for Naruto Uzumaki. Itachi cared little about the fate of the boy, merely wishing to get this over with in order to continue his mission schedule. Though, his father's own little additional order made it's way to the forefront of his mind.

'Lie, make it impossible for him to show needed skills, anything short of injuring him. We need to keep this as under the cuff as possible.' Fugaku's voice rang out in the ANBU's mind. It was a smart strategy: make it look like you were open and willing to work with the Hokage, underhandedly make it so you get what you'd want in the first place, and all the while if the Hokage makes any noise about it, the elder man merely looks like he's challenging the honor of a high-class, very well known member of the ANBU.

Itachi was just about to get to the stairs when Sarutobi walked out of another hall and walked towards him, a smile on his face.

"Well hello their Itachi-san, how are this fine day?" Sarutobi said as Itachi just looked at him.

"Hello to you too Hokage-sama, and I am just a little annoyed with this test, it seems like such a trivial matter." Itachi said as Sarutobi nodded and smiled.

"Yes, well it is something that must be done, and I do wish you luck Itachi-san." Sarutobi said as he extended his hand foward. Itachi looked at it before extending his own hand foward and grasping the Hokage's. They shook each others hand for only a second before the aged Hokage pulled Itachi into him, Itachi going foward with a small 'Wha-' before the Hokage put his head right beside Itachi's ear. "Now you listen to me Uchiha." Sarutobi said as he tightened his grip on the Uchiha's hand, causing him to wince a little bit.

"You're father and I are hardly on friendly terms as it is, and he on even less favorable terms when it comes to Naruto Uzumaki. So, realize that while this examination is taking place my eyes and ears will be on you... if I notice anything funny, or if you even so much as fudge a single detail because your father commanded you to lie to my face, and to the men and women of the council... well, I'm the Hokage, I'll have you on watch duty along the walls for so long you'll forget what going out and doing an active mission feels like." Sarutobi said in a stern tone, Itachi just looking at the aged Kage before somewhat nodding. "Good, then be on your way lad." Sarutobi said, giving Itachi a smile before walking off.

Itachi watched as Sarutobi slowly walked off... before shaking his head a bit. Itachi was more than smart enough than to think that Sarutobi's little threat was empty. Given the choice between merely disappointing his father, and having his growth as a ninja stunted by a lack of missions... the choice was easy enough for the power driven Uchiha. Itachi began to run off, ready to begin his examination of the young Uzumaki.

CLIFF HANGER!!! R&R!!!!!


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto: Alone...

Jesus, another twenty reviews within one day of posting? This must be a good one... hope I don't mess it up. Also if you're wondering whats taking me so long with the updates, I've recently gotten dangerously addicted to the 'Elite Beat Agents' game.

Well speaking of mess ups, lets see what you all thought of my story in your reviews;

**DragonMan180-** Well, let's see here. I'm not sure exactly what to do with that. The former part seems like a good idea so I may use it, the latter... yeah I think I may have an idea.

FictionReader98- No, Itachi will remain Itachi... but let's just say that in this chapter he's going to be given a second reason to kill his clan.

shikamaru the nerd- Hmm... no sorry, that would be nice but too Mary-Sue.

RobotPirateNinja- Well I said it once I'll say it again, don't try to use real world Psychology in Naruto, trust me you're life will be much easier.

larsbars08- No its not that type of story, I don't really like those anyway. And also... he's street smart, but he's not book smart.

**Omegaguardian-** Well thank you, it is an honor to hear that you think this is going so well. And please, if I do end up beginning to ruin it, stop me! Also tell your friend he has a lot of catching up to do :)

Tyrchon- Yeah, really all I had to do to find inspiration for Naruto's street skills were to look at an area like New York. If you're on your own you either learn to steal, very well, or you hope to God that you're ancestors were Italian and join one of the Five Families.

Wolf among sheep- Another nine out of ten, I'm racking up the points!

nwfairy- Yeah, I rather enjoy stories that actually have a back story, so yeah.

The Silver Flash- Well he isn't Hokage for nothing. And yeah Itachi's going to be evil.

**ZoneshifterD-** Well actually that wasn't forced, I figure if you live on the street for over two you gotta learn how to get good at pickin' people's pockets, especially if most of those people are ninjas. Also the entire 'Defiled' thing, its just that if you wanna get someone in trouble you got to make it sound evil. 'Pervert!' just says that pervert, but 'Defiled' can say a number of different things (Rape, Sexual Abuse, etc.) Also I would think that since the Konoha Military Police were seperate from the regular nins they would not have as much power (afterall, if they have equal power why create an entire division for them?) so therefore they wouldn't be able to kill him without probable cause (which they could not create with the lack of forensic technology we have seen thus far).

Ecchi-ANBU- And it should go without say that since I'm Italian I can call upon... a 'favor'...

Well let's get on with the next chapter of Naruto: Alone!!!

Chapter 3: The Chase and The Results

Konoha Market District - Approaching Noon

Itachi Uchiha had to say, that for a kid who hasn't even yet begun to attend the Academy, that Naruto Uzumaki was very difficult to locate. When he first began the search part of his mission he thought that he would be able to locate the six year old boy in no time at all. After all, he was six, he wouldn't have the ability to stay in his hidding place forever, he was bound to get bored eventually... however, he never met a six-year old like Naruto Uzumaki.

The young ANBU captain had been searching the city all morning for this brat, yet there was absolutely no sign of him. He tried in dark alleys, the only thing he found there were rats, cats, and a few insects but no six-year old brat. He tried garbage cans, figuring someone that small would be able to hide in one pretty easily. But the only things he found were trash, and a copy of Icha-Icha Paradise.

"Proper resting place for this smut." Itachi mentioned idly as he closed the lid on the trash can.

He then checked some of the older building in Konoha. Figuring that the kid may have taken up refuge in one of them empty, destroy, old, or otherwise, buildings. He searched through all of them, and yet still not a single trace of the brat. He went so far as to transform into a sucker and place himself in an alley to lure him out. Though that idea failed when he ended up being chased by a bunch of old, dirty cats, one of them Itachi swore looked like it was the daimyo's wife's cat. Itachi made a mental note that he would get to the Hokage and tell him about that. Itachi looked at one of the clocks hanging in a shop nearby. It was noon, and by the time it had passed Itachi was just about sick and tired of looking around for the brat.

It was as Itachi began making another pass around the market distract when Itachi suddenly heard the sound of glass crashing, and followed it. Itachi ended up on the roof top opposite a butcher shop, and he saw that one of the windows had been busted open with a butcher knife. Itachi's eyebrows raised as he listened in on comments like 'Give that back you rotten thief' or the best in his opinion 'I'll break your damn legs you little son of a bitch!'. He then saw none other than the target, Naruto Uzumaki, rush towards the other, unbroken window, and crashed through it as another butcher knife went past his head.

He picked himself up and grabbed the large piece of steak he had managed to grab and ran off down the street as the butcher came out with a knife in each hand. Two Chunin made it to the scene a few moments later, and upon learning what had just happened began running down the street after Naruto. "GET BACK HERE NARUTO UZUMAKI!" Was their battle cry as they went after him. Itachi followed the chase on the rooftops with his Sharingan activated, picking up on the smallest of movements made by the target.

As the chase entered the five minute check point Itachi made several observation's about Naruto's running form. He was fast, not fast enough to lose Itachi, but definetly fast enough to keep further than an arm's length from the two Chunin. His actual form was.. well imperfect would be an understatement. It was practically disastrous, though there were traces of a ninja's running form in it, they were few. It looked like he just stole a glance at one of his pursuer's running forms and tried to imitate it.

But, despite the obvious lack of form, the kid was proving to be naturally fast. With some training at the Academy his speed would probably improve even more. Currently his speed was around that of a Chunin, perhaps even a moderately experienced Chunin, which was allowing him to pretty easily outpace his pursuers.

'Is this running speed really what all the fuss is about?' Were Itachi's thoughts as he continued watching. He assumed that his speed would raise to at least a newly recruited Jounin with the proper form. He watched as Naruto slipped into an alley, and the two Chunin followed. The ANBU watched as the Chunin searched the alley for him, only to find no sign of him. They ran off, the search now apparently over. Itachi sighed as he performed a one-handed ram seal and disappeared in a burst of speed.

Meanwhile in the 'empty' alley, a garbage can began shaking around, until the lid popped off and Naruto's head popped out. He searched around till he was sure that the alley was empty. He climbed out with the steak in between his teeth. When he got out he spat the meat into his hand and smirked towards the entrance.

"Suckers." He said as he took one step behind him before bumping into Itachi. Naruto leapt back and around so that he was facing Itachi, with a very shocked look on his face. "Hey how did you get behind me!?" Naruto shouted as he pointed towards Itachi.

"That does not matter, what does matter is that I'm here to take you to Hokage-sama." Itachi said as Naruto raised his eyebrow.

He had heard of this Hokage guy before, lots of the Chunin who chased him scream at him that the 'Hokage' should've killed him while he was in the crib. Now Naruto may not have been taught anything in his short six-year old life, but he was sure that you didn't want to meet anyone who would kill you. So Naruto backed up to the garbage can and glared at Itachi.

"Screw that!" Naruto shouted as he slammed his hand down on the side of the lid of the garbage can, causing it to flip over.

Itachi's eyes widened as he saw the kunai, that was tied to the lid with some ninja wire. Naruto tore the kunai from its place and flung it towards Itachi's head. Itachi moved his head to the side to dodge the kunai, and smirked at Naruto, that is until Naruto flung the garbage can lid like a frisbee towards him. Itachi bent over backwards in order to dodge this metal projectile... but then Naruto did something he could not have now, or could not ever have expected. Naruto ran up to him, cocked his leg back, and kicked Itachi in the... sensitive area between his legs.

Itachi went from bending over backwards to dodge, to falling onto his back because his legs gave out from under him. Naruto smirked as his move worked, he saw a woman do this to a guy who was touching her chest once, and he had the same reaction as this guy. Naruto ran out of the alley, and then down the streets of Konoha, to get away from the now stunned Itachi.

'... Taijutsu... high D-Rank... the kid has... weapon skills...' Itachi thought as he began sitting up, thanking Kami he had such a huge chakra reserve to help ease the pain. '...but... that kind of move... is completely below anyone... who seriously considers themselves a ninja.' The ANBU said, momentarily forgetting he was dealing with a six year old child. Itachi stood and when the pain had finally died down, the chase had begun proper.

'Also I have to admit the kid is pretty clever, hiding a kunai in such a spot... makes you wonder if there are other spots like that in Konoha.' Itachi thought as he was catching up to Naruto. Meanwhile, Naruto was having a blast, Not only had he gotten to test out that technique, but he also got to keep his meal! His smirked withdrawed however when he felt someone behind him.

He stopped and turned around, not seeing anyone. He shrugged and faced foward again, only to be greeted with the site of Itachi in front of him. Naruto jumped back ten feet and looked on at Itachi.

"What the hell, the guy I watched get kicked stayed down for at least an hour! How did you get up so quickly?!!?" Naruto shouted as Itachi sweat dropped.

"It does not matter, I'm here to take you to Hokage-sama." Itachi said as Naruto began panicking a bit, but then he got an idea... it was simple, but if this guy was so easy to kick in the sack then this would be a piece of cake. Naruto was about to pull off his trick.. until he saw something very disturbing behind Itachi... something that made his blood turn cold, and sweat uncontrolably.

"Hey what's that over there!?" Naruto shouted as he pointed in a direction behind Itachi, a look of fear mixed with panic on his face.

Itachi sighed as he looked the kid square in the eye. "If you think that old trick will..." Itachi said until he felt a familiar presence behind him, one he felt at least three times a day when he was in Konoha. He turned around and what he saw confirmed his suspicions. "Oh no, its..." Itachi began until...

"ITACHI-KUN!!!" A herd of girl's screamed as they ran up to him. Yes, it was the Itachi Uchiha fan club! "Itachi-kun where have you been!" One fan girl shouted. "How was your last mission!?" Another shouted as Itachi just stood there and looked at them. Itachi learnt long ago that when dealing with fan girls, if you run it makes it even worse. He looked behind him and sighed as he saw that his target had once again evaded him. Itached performed half of the cross shaped seal, and a Shadow Clone of himself appeared beside him.

"Please aim all questions towards him, I have a mission to complete." Itachi said as he began running down the opposite end of the street, not only to find Naruto but to also get away from his fan club. As he left, his Shadow Clone was suddenly being smothered, glomped, and kissed by the Itachi Uchiha fan club.

'He must've gotten pretty far by now.' Itachi thought as he ran down the street/got glomped by fan girls. Itachi continued running down the streets, and he kept on looking around. He was about to give up on his own search, that is until the smell of meat cooking came across his nostrils. Itachi looked around until he realized the smell was coming from an alley. Itachi raised his eyebrow and walked down the alley. He continued walking, following his nose to where he would hope to find his target. Eventually he reached a shaw/

Itachi raised his eyebrows at the strategically placed cloth; with the smell of roasting meat behind it it likely meant someone was living there. Even if it was just the Uzumaki child, who knew if he had the place booby trapped. Itachi pulled out one kunai and slowly walked past the shaw. Itachi gave the area a once over before he was satisfied that he was alone, and safe from any sudden tricks. He walked around and noticed the fire burning in the center, the meat burning upon it, still a little raw. Itachi began searching for Naruto until he stummbled upon something, a patch of grass... that looked like it had been moved from somewhere.

Itachi bent down and removed the grass, and saw that underneath it there were papers with crudely drawn passage maps of roads and alleys on them. As Itachi inspected the papers, he came to realize that, as crude as these may have been, they were the lay out of Konoha's various streets an alleys. Dotting the paper was red dots, likely areas where traps had been set.

'This boy is quite smart: he's not only placed traps all over Konoha, but he's also made out maps to memorize so he can immediately access them from memory... and judging by the detail of the alleys, he also knows quick routes around Konoha.' Itachi thought as he put the papers back down onto the ground and covered them back up again. He stood up as he heard a gasp come from the opposite end of the hide out. He turned to see Naruto Uzumaki coming in, with what appeared to be a few fish in his hands.

"How the hell did you find me!?" Naruto shouted as the fish were dropped to the ground. Itachi simply pointed to the meat cooking over the fire and Naruto sweat dropped. "Well, you aren't going to catch me!" Naruto shouted as he ran down the alley from which he came. Itachi sighed as he followed him, right to a dead end, the only exit was blocked by a wooden fence.

"You can't run now Uzumaki..." Itachi said as he watched Naruto rip off a section of the fence, crawl through it and then place the section back on. "... or maybe you can..." Itachi muttered as he jumped over the fence, to see Naruto climbing up a ladder. Itachi sighed as he jumped up to the rooftop, just as Naruto reached the top. Naruto looked at Itachi in shock as he ran to the opposite side of the roof and jumped off the ledge. Itachi sighed once more and walked to the ledge.

Naruto slung to the ledges of the windows of the rooms just below the roof. He hoped to God that this trick would work, he only had one more up his sleeve after this one. Though those hopes were destroyed when Itachi suddenly leaned over, and looked at Naruto upside-down. Naruto looked up to see Itachi just standing on the side of the building, nothing attaching him to the building, just standing on the side as if he were standing on the ground itself. Naruto gulped as he looked at Itachi's upside-down face.

"Really, is this the best you have?" Itachi asked as Naruto gave him a scowl and let go of the window ledges. Itachi looked down to see Naruto pull out a ratty old glove and force it onto his hand. As he got the glove on he grabbed a clothes line, and slid down it for two seconds, and not even waiting to hit the wall, he let go, and landed in a dumpster. Naruto jumped out of said dumpster and ran over to the fence at the end of the alley, which also had a loose section of board. Itachi sighed as he jumped off the side of the building, and on top of the fence.

Itachi looked down to see a sewer lid jumping around as it fit itself back into place. Itachi sweat dropped as he realized what this meant... 'I'm going to have to go into the sewer...' The ANBU thought as he sighed. Meanwhile Naruto was trudging through the sewer. Moving around with the hopes that he could lose this guy before...

"Freeze." He heard behind him. He turned around to see that indeed Itachi was a few feet behind him. Naruto began chuckling which kinda creeped out Itachi.

"Hey I gotta say you're good, only a few guys actually followed me all the way down here." Naruto said as his face became more serious. "But no one has ever caught me after... this!" Naruto shouted as his hand shot down into the sewer water, and yanked from it a kunai. Naruto then threw that kunai towards Itachi's head, Itachi merely ducking his head to the side.

The Uchiha genius looked at Naruto, who looked about as frustrated an angry a a six year old possibly could. "So now you see you really had no chance of escape. Now you're coming with me." Itachi said as he took one step, and then fell. Itachi looked down to find himself waist deep in... something... Itachi scooped up mud. Itachi Uchiha had just fell into a mud hole.

"HA! I knew that stuff would come in handy!" Naruto shouted as Itachi looked up at him.

"You can't possibly be serious? This is just mud, I can get out... of... it..." Itachi said as he placed his hands against the walls, straining against the mud pit as he tried to pull himself out, the suction of the pit keeping the ANBU sucked right into it.

"I found it in the woods while I was hunting. My meal got caught in so I lost it, but I found a perfect trap!" Naruto shouted as he jumped over Itachi's head. "Now you'll never catch me now!" Naruto shouted as he ran back down the sewer's tunnels.

Itachi stayed there for a second, shaking slightly, clinching his fists, and then he began laughing. He laughed and laughed and laughed till he was blue in the face. When Itachi's temporary moment of insanity was over he turned his head to face the tunnel Naruto had run down. "I've made my decision..." Itachi said as he looked down at his waist. "But now I have to figure out how the hell to get out of this..." Itachi said as he began trying to pull his way out of the mud. "This may be a bit harder than I thought..." Itachi muttered as he continued to pull.

Meanwhile Naruto was back at his hide out, enjoying his meal of steak and fish. Naruto was eating the steak pretty slowly, after all Naruto didn't get good pieces of food like that everyday, so he learnt how to enjoy it while he could. Then the sound of water dripping came from the other side of his hideout. Naruto reached for a kunai he had used to skin the fish and jumped up and turned around... and was treated to a sight he had not expected to see.

From the waist up, Itachi Uchiha, ANBU captain, looked perfectly normal. But that was not what was knocking Naruto for a loop. From the waist down, the only thing Itachi was wearing... was a pair of boxer shorts with the Uchiha Clan symbol on them. Now this was going to defeat Naruto for three reasons;

For one thing, the boy was still only six years old. For another, six year olds found nearly everything funny, and finally: no one in Konoha couldn't possibly keep themselves from breaking out into laughter at the sight of the great Itachi Uchiha in his boxers.

Naruto collapsed to the ground, laughing while he held his ribs and rolled around. Itachi just sighed as he walked over, and picked Naruto up by the collar and began carrying him through the alleys. After about five minutes Naruto stopped laughing, and he was now pouting, he had been caught. But Naruto noticed something, that this particular alley led to a community place where there were a bunch of people with the weird fan thing on their backs.

"Bet you five-hundred yen we run into someone you know." Naruto said while smirking as Itachi glared at him for a moment before sighing.

"Yeah I know..." Itachi said, though he said he knew... he didn't know just how right Naruto was. As Itachi walked out of the alley he was treated to the most horrifying sight of his life. Itachi had managed to find his way right to the middle of the Uchiha Clan Compound at its busiest time of the day, and managed to walk out right into the middle of many of his non-ninja relatives, who immediately became as mirthful as Naruto had been mere moments ago. As the ANBU began taking his walk of shame down the street, Itachi pulled five-hundred yen and was about to give it to Naruto before Naruto pushed it back.

"Please, this is enough of a treat for me." Naruto chuckled out before Itachi began walking down the street. He was laughed at no matter where he walked. Needless to say, Itachi's ego took quite the pounding that day. Though the calm Uchiha didn't show it, he hardly had any pride left inside of his body. At this point he was actually going to be quite happy taking this kid to the Hokage's office, and get him out of his hair.

Itachi finally reach the Hokage Tower, after having to walk through the entire Uchiha district in his boxers, he was glad to be able to finish this mission. He walked up to the secretary, who was sporting a blush on her face from the de-pantsed Uchiha, looked her straight in the eye. "I'm here to see Hokage-sama, could you tell him..." Itachi began as the secretary cut him off.

"He's been expecting you Uchiha-san please go onto his room." The secretary said as Itachi nodded and continued to carry Naruto by his collar. "By the way, the new look works for you!" The secretary shouted as Itachi began running up the stairs, hoping the Hokage wouldn't say anything about his attire, which was highly unlikely. Itachi walked up to the sliding door and knocked on it.

"Come in Itachi-san." He heard Sarutobi say on the other side. Naruto heard the same voice, and was a little shocked. He expected the Hokage to sound a little more powerful than that. As Itachi walked in he saw Sarutobi raise his eyebrow at him. "Don't tell you have fallen under the sway of Icha-Icha Paradise too..." Sarutobi said as Itachi shook his head no and Sarutobi sighed. Naruto kinda stared at the old man in fornt of him, this old coot was the guy who should've killed him while he was in the crib?

Sarutobi smiled as he looked between Naruto and Itachi. "So Itachi-san, how did the testing go?" Sarutobi asked as Itachi sat down in a chair, and threw Naruto into another chair. Itachi, tired, and grumpy, began his evalutation.

"Well... my evaluation of this kid is... good." Itachi said, trying to keep his modesty in tact, and he could've sworn he head some groans coming from somewhere. "Early on I found him stealing from a butcher, the chase between him and the Chunin that followed showed me that he had fairly good speed, that would only improve with proper form." Itachi said as Naruto just sat there with a melancholy grin on his face that just said 'Damn straight I'm fast'. "His Taijutsu... well he has good weapon skills, but other forms of Taijutsu..." Itachi said as he absent mindedly rubbed his sack. "could use some work." He said as Naruto practically jumped out of his seat.

"HEY WHAT DO YOU MEAN!? I got you down with one kick to your balls!" Naruto shouted as Sarutobi blushed and the sound of people doing a spit-take was slightly heard.

Itachi blushed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Anyway I'm willing to bet that his intelligence... is at least D-Rank." Itachi said as Sarutobi nodded. "But that's not to say that he isn't clever." Itachi said as Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "He might not be book smart, but the kid is clever... very clever." Itachi said as Sarutobi nodded. "His survival skills are obviously some of the best I've seen. To be able to grow up on the streets of Konoha, and survive for that matter, is amazing in itself. After all, you must know the learning arc with those conditions, right Hokage-sama?" Itachi said as Sarutobi nodded.

'Yes, I'm aware... you either learn and adapt or you don't survive to see tomorrow...' Sarutobi thought as Naruto's smirk grew even more at the praise.

"So I'm willing to bet that most lessons that would be taught to him he would pick up on, whether it would take a short time or a long time however I am not sure." Itachi said as Sarutobi smiled, feeling more and more assured of Naruto's chances.

"So... overall-" Itachi began as he lowered his head. "-he's a devious, cunning, theiving little kid, and by far one of the most aggravating people I have met in my entire life!" Itachi said as Sarutobi could just see in his mind's eye the smirking features of the council members. "So, with this in mind, I find Naruto Uzumaki to be well suited for a career as a ninja." Itachi concluded, Sarutobi's eyes widening for a mere moment, surprised to hear the Uchiha state this, before a small smile graced his lips, and he motioned for Itachi to continue.

"He has shown skills in survival, speed, weapon skills, and trap making that you don't normally see in any Genin. He has also shown that he is cunning, and deceitful when it comes to tough situations. So yes Hokage-sama, I would gladly say that Naruto Uzumaki would make a good addition to our ninja forces." Itachi said as Sarutobi smiled, nodding at the young ANBU.

"Thank you Itachi-san, you may get some replacement clothing in the ANBU locker room." Sarutobi said as Itachi nodded and made his way out of the room. As he left Sarutobi smiled that his plan had gone so well. Now there was only one thing left to do, convince Naruto to become a shinobi. "Hello there Naruto, I am Sarutobi Sandaime Hokage, and it is a pleasure to finally get to meet you." Sarutobi said as Naruto just kind of stared at him.

END OF CHAPTER! R&R!!!


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto: Alone...

Well hello everyone, most of the fans of my other stories are probably wondering why I'm paying so much attention to this story over the others. Well I write something when I feel inspired to right it, and honestly the recent Naruto chapters in the manga have been making it extremely hard for me to do anything inspiring that has to do with Naruto. I'm barely able to write these chapters. Anyway enough of Kishimoto and his ability, or lack there of, to write manga.

Now then, may I ask you all a favor. I have a non-Naruto fic on this site (shocker I know), and I would like it if you all took a look at it. Its a Love Hina x Rurouni Kenshin crossover (not a complete one). It is told through an AU Kenshin POV. Please take a look at this story, I really need the feedback or else my story will suffer, so do check it out.

Onto the reviews;

FictionReader98- Well he'll TRY to treat Naruto the same as in the canon, but Naruto will make that very hard for him... Well... actually I think you'll enjoy the idea I have, if not then oh well. And people have been asking/telling me what's going to, or what should happen, just wait and see.

rasengan86- Wel I'll give ya a hint on what's going to happen, he can have everything to do with his Shinobi's and Shinob-in-training's CAREER. And by the time Naruto graduates and gets to the first bell test he will have a different, and slightly more advanced, set of skills from the canon Naruto.

**DragonMan180-** When you have an ego like Itachi's no one can be spared for any reason what so ever.

Tyrchon- Hahaha. You're right, he was expecting sich a nice and easy mission, but ended up meeting with such an annoying one. That's what makes it so that's my thinking behind the reason for the massacre, with such a huge hit to such a huge ego it would be very disastrous for the damagers involved. Trust me people have killed for more idiotic reasons before.

Kai Dragoon- Yeah, I bet a bunch of D-Rank missions could not be as annoying as chasing Naruto.

unknowndragon- Well to be completely honest I got some inspiration for this story from that, just don't tell anyone.

Wolf among sheep- Man I'm slippin'.

Angel of Chaos- Honestly with the reviews I'm getting I'm beginning to wonder if this should have been the canon (just joking).

**ZoneshifterD**- Check the message I sent ya, it explains everything.

HarbringerLady- He has basic reading skills, as seen in the second chapter.

Ecchi-ANBU- Quicksand- n.- a portion of ground, or sand, that has water bubbling up from underneath it, causing it to unsettle and resettle over and over, causing a sort of burying/sucking force to those that enter it. Depending on the quality of sand, or dirt, and the amount of water, sand, and dirt, will affect how fast or how far one would sink in quicksand.

Please don't question my intelligence sir, I was simply using my writer's priveledge in order to make comedy, even ZoneshifterD didn't point that out, and he's normally a stick in the mud (or quicksand in this case).

Now that the reviews are out of the way, let's get on with the next chapter of Naruto: Alone!!!!

Chapter 4: Meeting Sarutobi, And Getting Ready For The Academy!

_Last Time_

_"Thank you Itachi-san, you may get some replacement clothing in the ANBU locker room." Sarutobi said as Itachi nodded and made his way out of the room. As he left Sarutobi smiled that his plan had gone so well. Now there was only one thing left to do, convince Naruto to become a shinobi. "Hello there Naruto, I am Sarutobi Sandaime Hokage, and it is a pleasure to finally get to meet you." Sarutobi said as Naruto just kind of stared at him._

_And Now For Our Featured Presentation_

Naruto stared at Sarutobi for some time. He was not used to being smiled at, and so the way the aged Hokage was weird... what was he trying to pull? "Look, I don't know what I'm here for, and whatever it is I'm sorry." Naruto said as Sarutobi was about to open his mouth. "If its about the steak they say I 'stole', I swear to Kami-sama I found it on the street in a garbage can!" Naruto said as he panicked slightly while the Hokage lifted his hand up.

"Naruto please, this has nothing to do with that. I cannot punish you for such a minor offense." Sarutobi said as Naruto stood up and seriously began panicking.

"Look I don't know what you're talking about! I don't know how that dog ended up with a shaved butt! It was someone else! It was an accident! It had it coming! THE LITTLE MUTT BIT ME!" Naruto began shouting in a crazy and wild tone while the Hokage just sat and stared at the crazy luttle blonde and his rants.

"Naruto calm down! I have not brought you here to punish you, and what are you talking about!? The only report I have recieved of a dog with a shaved butt is Tsume Inuzuka's... partner..." Hokage said as he looked at Naruto with a raised an eyebrow while Naruto grew a sweat drop the size of his head and began chuckling nervously as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Hehehe.. he... he... You know what forget I said anything..." Naruto said as he sat back down. Then, five minutes later, he coughed a few times into his fist. "So... are you going to punish me for something or what? Can't think of any other reasons for being here..." Naruto said as Sarutobi smiled and as he put some tobacco into his pipe.

"Well you see Naruto, I am not here to punish you. You see I am the Hokage, leader of this village, Konoha. The only things I am really in charge of are Shinobi related crimes. The rest such as thefts, organized crime, not paying taxes, and such are left to the Konoha Military Police." Sarutobi said as he smoked some of his tobacco while Naruto stared intently at him. "Are you here to be punished? No Naruto, far from it actually." Sarutobi said as Naruto raised an eyebrow. "In fact I would like to offer you... a position." Sarutobi said as Naruto's eyes widened slightly. "A job, if you would." Sarutobi said as Naruto's jaw dropped.

Now there was something Naruto had never expected to here. 'Offer' and 'job' were words he only expected to hear in his dreams, but they were being spoken to him right now. But Naruto got a questioning look in his eye as he stared down the aged Hokage. "What kind of job are we talking about here?" Naruto asked as Sarutobi chuckled.

"I thought you may ask that." Sarutobi said as he put the cap on his pipe and laid it down. "You see Naruto, I would like to make you a Shinobi, or ninja, of Konoha." Sarutobi said as Naruto leaned foward in his chair. "Like I said I am the leader of Konoha, a ninja village in the Land of Fire, and the most powerful ninja village at that." Sarutobi said as Naruto leaned foward more. "But you see, in order to keep this power our own, we require new Shinobi in order to fill our ranks. So I would like to recruit you, Naruto Uzumaki." Sarutobi finished as Naruto leaned back in his chair and tapped his chin.

"What makes you want to recruit me anyway?" Naruto said as Sarutobi smiled.

"Well Naruto, one only needs to look at your record in the Military Police Station to figure that one out." Sarutobi said as he pulled a file out of the many stacks of papers on his desk. He opened the file and began reading from it. "Naruto Uzumaki, age six, gender male, citizen of Konoha." Sarutobi said as he flipped to the next page. "Criminal record; over one-hundred robberies of many stores throughout Konoha over the past two and a half years. Merchandise stolen includes clothes, ninja equipment, food, water, and the like." Sarutobi said as he turned to the next page.

"In the first year of his crime spree his success rate for theft was 40%, being caught a majority of the times by Chunin. Punishment for crimes has not been recorded.." Sarutobi said as he looked up to see Naruto shutter a little bit before continuing. "In the second year of his crime spree his success rate for theft jumped to a 73%, the Chunin's capabilities of catching him dropping significantly." Sarutobi said as he looked up to see Naruto grinning cheekily while blowing on his finger nails. Sarutobi smiled as he continued.

"And half way into the third year of his crime spree, Naruto Uzumaki's success rate has been... 87%, practically avoiding all Chunin, but still runs into trouble when the occasional Jounin captures him." Sarutobi said as he closed the folder and put it back into his desk while smiling at Naruto. "Now coupling that with the report Itachi Uchiha, an ANBU captain, gave me just a few minutes ago, I don't see why I shouldn't recruit you." Sarutobi said as Naruto resumed his thinking position.

"Okay, then what's in it for me anyway?" Naruto said as Sarutobi smiled and looked at Naruto.

"Well Naruto, along with being a Shinobi of Konoha, you would have to go through the Ninja Academy." Sarutobi said as Naruto sweat dropped.

"And... that's supposed to be good why?" Naruto asked as Sarutobi smiled.

"Well I just thought that meeting, talking, and even possibly playing with kids your own age would be exciting." Sarutobi said as Naruto raised an eyebrow. He had never played with anyone, at all, before, the adults wouldn't let him. "And then there's being assigned to super, secret, and dangerous missions, the likes of which ordinary people only dream about." Sarutobi said as Naruto leaned foward. "Then there's the wealth of experience and 'RESPECT' one gets as a Shinobi." Sarutobi said as a glint went through Naruto's eyes as he leaned foward even more. "And then, there's getting paid..." Sarutobi said as Naruto jumped up on his desk and looked him straight in the eye.

"Paid, that means I get a payment for each mission right?" Naruto asked as Sarutobi nodded. "And I get paid with real money, right?" Naruto asked as Sarutobi nodded again. "Money I could use to buy stuff around here, right?" Naruto asked as Sarutobi nodded. Naruto's fox-like smile grew ten fold as he saw the last nod, he jumped off the aged Hokage's desk and put out his hand. "You got yourself a deal old man, I'll become the best damned Shinobi you've ever seen!" Naruto shouted as Sarutobi shook his hand.

"Good to hear, but watch your mouth young man." Sarutobi said as Naruto nodded.

"Sorry." He said as his smile returned. "Man I can't wait, first I'm going to pass this 'Academy' thing with flying colors! Then I'll go on these super high paying missions and get lots of money! Then I'll buy everything I could ever dream of having, a huge house, a bunch of furniture..." Naruto ranted as Sarutobi simply looked at the boy and smiled as he turned to a picture of the Yondaime Hokage hanging on the wall.

'Yondaime... I hope that wherever you are... that you'll see just what a fine young man you have picked to be Konoha's hero.' Sarutobi thought as he looked at the energetic blonde. 'Whether Konoha wants him or not.' Sarutobi thought as he took the cap off of his pipe and began smoking it again.

"Say old man, when do I go to this 'Academy' thing." Naruto asked, finishing his long rant about his future plans, as Sarutobi simply smiled as he exhaled the smoke, and threw Naruto a calendar. "What's this thing?" Naruto asked as Sarutobi reached for a specific date on the calendar, which was only a few days away from the current day.

"On this date, a couple hours after sunrise, is when the Academy will begin." Sarutobi said as he pointed to the current date, as well as the few days that lead up to that date. "When all of these days are up, is when you go to the Academy." Sarutobi said as Naruto nodded, smiled, and took the calendar.

"No problem! Academy here I come!" Naruto shouted as he ran out of the office, leaving Sarutobi to go from happy, to slightly sad.

'I'm sorry I cannot do too much more for you than this Naruto.' Sarutobi said as he tilted his hat foward. 'Even if I now have the freedoms to choose your Academy instructor as well as your possible Jonin sensei... I'm afraid that's all I can do. Even now, almost the entire council would forbid me from doing too much more for you... I'm afraid you'll have to continue living like you do for the next... possibly half-dozen years...' Sarutobi thought as he remembered just how long it could take Naruto to graduate...

'But then again...' Sarutobi thought as he smirked. 'The training from the Academy would give him better chances of survival...' Sarutobi thought as he looked up at the door Naruto just left through. 'And while he would be surviving, it would help train his ninja skills to a certain degree...' Sarutobi thought as he smirked more. 'Kami-sama works in mysterious ways... maybe getting kicked out of the Orphanage, and living on his own, was actually one of the best things that could have happened to Naruto in this situation.' Sarutobi thought as he looked out of his window towards the sky.

'Kami-sama certainly does work in mysterious ways...' Sarutobi thought as he put his pipe down and began working on the one thing he hated more than anything else, paperwork...

Streets of Konoha

Naruto was walking through Konoha's bustling streets, grinning from ear to ear, causing some of the people on the street to stare at him with midly worried looks. Naruto didn't pay any mind to them today though, because he was about to go somewhere, somewhere that would make his life even better then before! Naruto eventually made a turn into an alley and started walking through them. He thought a lot about what he was going to do when he entered the Academy. But one thought crossed his mind as he was about to enter his hide out...

He really didn't have too much...

He entered his hide out looking down at his clothes. They were old, smelly, and, frankly, looked like they had been eaten, digested, thrown up, and then eaten again. Naruto then looked over at the corner where he kept his ninja equipment. His kunai and shuriken were rusted, the ninja wire was old, and very, very thin. He looked at the old ninja sandals he was wearing, and though he couldn't tell it, the soles were so worn they were probably about ready to give out from underneath him at any second.

Now he couldn't start off a career as a Shinobi of Konoha looking like something the cat dragged in. So Naruto went over to his, old, ninja equipment, and got a few yards of ninja wire. Today Naruto Uzumaki's targets were not food, water, and other such neccesities. No today's targets were new shoes, new clothes, and better ninja equipment. Naruto placed the calender by the make-shift tent he slept in so he wouldn't lose it and ran out. He was on... 'The Hunt'!

Naruto's first, and most likely his easiest, was the ninja equipment. Naruto normally only stole new ninja equipment once per year, in order to avoid some of the more... violent Shinobi that would chase him. But, due to using his newly stolen Shinobi equipment for traps, tricks, and other things, they wore down faster than when he just used them for getting away. So he was due to get some new stuff. Naruto made his ways through the twists and turns of the alleys of Konoha, making his way to the 'Shinobi General Equipment Hut' shop he knew to be at the end of one of these alleys.

Naruto popped his head out of an alley, and looked around for the hut, and indeed there it was. Naruto checked the clock on the inside of the hut, and found that it was the right time to make his move. You see, when Naruto first started stealing equipment two years ago he studied the documents those bad men left behind after he... that's besides the point. Anyway he found out the owner of the shop left his shop everyday around the time the sun was past overhead (noon). So, after checking to make sure this was true, he went into the store, and would rob them of the basic equipment each year, the only people really knowing being the Chunin that would chase him down day after day.

Naruto watched as the man left his shop, and walked down the street humming a tune. Naruto smirked as he made his move into the store, making sure no one saw him going in, after all he couldn't afford another exhausting chase before the Academy... 'HAHAHA! Yeah right!' Naruto thought as he walked into the shop. The shop was a basic shop, lights hanging off the ceiling, with aisles of Shinobi weapons free for the taking. Naruto looked around, reached into one of the many old pockets in his very old pair of pants, and pulled out.. a burlap sack, cliche yes, effective yes.

Naruto made his way into the Kunai aisle and began loading the sack up with kunai, when he heard a gasp from behind him. Naruto turned around slowly to find that he was being watched by a girl, at least a year older than he was, wearing just a pink, no-sleeved t-shirt, and some black shorts. He brown hair was done up in buns, and she had brown-ish eyes. Naruto stared for a moment, and she stared for a moment before she broke the awkward silence. "What are you doing with our kunai?" She asked as Naruto sweat dropped before mouthing 'sorry'.

There were sounds of struggle, yelps for help, and then smothered yelps for help before the shop was silent. We look inside to see Naruto had tied up the mysterious girl with some of his old ninja wire, and then gagged her with one of his old gloves. "Now if I take this glove out of your mouth, you won't scream okay?" Naruto asked as the girl nodded slowly and Naruto took out the glove. The girl gasped for air for a second before glaring at Naruto.

"What's the big idea?! Who are you and who do you think you are?!" She asked as the resident thief sweat dropped.

"Well, my name's Naruto Uzumaki... oh crap I shouldn't have told you my name!" Naruto moaned as his five-year old mind had not thought of that sooner. When he looked up at the girl he noticed something weird... she had stars in her eyes.

"Naruto Uzumaki?" She asked quickly as Naruto nodded. "The Naruto Uzumaki." She asked again as Naruto nodded.

"I'm the only one I know." Naruto said as the stars grew.

"Are you the Street Fox!?" She asked, sounding slightly excited, as Naruto nodded again. Then she did something Naruto could not expect. She squealed in a high pitched squeal like he heard from those 'Fan Girls' that he saw with the guy who caught him earlier today. When she stopped Naruto stared as she began jumping around in her chair. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! I'm being robbed by the Street Fox! No one at the Academy is going to believe me!" She shouted as Naruto sweat dropped.

"Ummm... Excuse me?" Naruto asked as the girl scooted the seat closer.

"I never thought I would be robbed by the Street Fox himself! And now I am! I mean I expected you to be taller and older, but this is cool never the less!" The girl shouted as Naruto sweat dropped again.

"Umm... Could you tell me why you're acting like this?" Naruto asked as the girl stared in awe at him.

"Don't you know, you're THE Street Fox! You're practically a living legend in our class at the Academy!" The girl said as Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" He asked as the girl nodded ferverously.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes! I mean you steal from shop owners, outrun Chunin and Jonin, and then you disappear out of sight, into the dark of night, all of a sudden! You're like a manga character only for real!" The girl shouted as Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head.

'Wow, first the old man, then an entire class at the Academy? I'm more awesome than I thought.' Naruto thought as the girl continued.

"So what do you want to rob from me Street Fox-san!?" She asked as Naruto sweat dropped.

"Well... I'm starting in the Academy myself so I came to steal kunai, which I have, shuriken and ninja wire." Naruto said as the girl nodded.

"Alright if you untie me and promise me to do me another favor, I'll give you those things!" The girl shouted as Naruto nodded and untied her. She then got the things Naruto asked for, faster than he ever thought possible, and put them in his sack. "Wait right here!" She shouted as she ran back into a back room, and ran back out carrying a kunai. "Could you please sign this!?" She shouted as Naruto nodded and began signing the kunai.

"So who do I make this out to?" Naruto asked as the girl giggled.

"My name's Tenten!" Tenten shouted as Naruto signed her name and she squealed. "Oh my God, I'm showing this to everyone back at the Academy when it starts, even Lee!" She shouted as Naruto left. "Thank you!" She shouted as she walked into the back room.

Naruto quickly snuck into the same alley he snuck out of, trying to avoid being caught with his pay load. He had to say, that was the easiest robbery he has ever commited, ever! I mean no one has actually wanted him to steal from them before. Hell, maybe his life was finally getting just a little bit better... ah something was bound to screw up eventually, something always does. Anyway, after coming back to his hideout and dropping off his new supply of Kunai and Shuriken, and then went for the next target, a new pair of ninja sandals.

So Naruto went through the alleys again, and found himself in front of the local shoe store of Konoha, where they sold all sorts of shoes, no matter what they were. And Naruto saw in the window, a pair of blue, and a pair of black Shinobi sandals, the ones he was going to steal. Naruto expertly snuck up tot he entrance of the shoe store, and then looked in through the door to check to see what the people were doing. He noticed that the only two people in the room were busy, one worker helping some woman try on a pair of sandals (the woman being too fat to reach her own feet). Naruto grimaced as he saw an almost equal look of disgust on the guy's face.

Naruto, knowing an easy job when he saw one, so he snuck over to the shoes in the display window, grabbed them, and then snuck out. The shoes may be a little big, but hey that's life. He once again made his way to his hideout, and hid the shoes in it. Now Naruto only had one last target to visit, the clothing store. Naruto never could get away without being spotted, it was almost impossible when you were carrying clothes in your arms. So he knew he had better be ready to run. As Naruto made his way through, he was practically choosing out what clothes he was going to get. They were going to have to be like his current ones; dark, with lots of pocket space. He learned two things; one being clothed in nice, bright, primary colors didn't help you when you are trying to escape (he learned this one the hard way). Two, you're going to need pockets if you plan on getting lots of stuff at once.

Naruto snuck out of the alley that lead to the clothing store, and snuck to the front entrance. He glided inside of the store, and made his way to where they usually had clothes his size, baggy clothes, once again not that great of an idea. Naruto looked around for only a second before grabbing at least three sets of clothes. The first was a black shirt, which also had also hanging with it, a pair of cargo pants similar to his own, only a bit less worn, and they tightened around the ankles.

The second set was a forest green shirt that went along with a pair of camo-brown pants with those weird pockets he usually saw on the sides of the pants that the people who chased him had on. He then picked out something he really didn't want, but he could hear the shop keeper coming. It was a red-orange shirt, with a pair of blue ninja pants. And for some of the cold nights that could be coming soon a black, forest green, and blue trench coat, all three of them had some dark red spiral on their backs.

Naruto piled all three of the sets of clothes on top of his arms and just began making a mad dash for the front door. After all there was no way in hell he was not going to be at least seen with all of these clothes. Naruto had just made it out of the door, before the owner of the shop called some Chunin, and the chase was on. But right now, Naruto wasn't in the mood for a chase, he had a long, and confusing for the most part, day. So Naruto decided to let out the big one... Naruto put all of the clothes he was carrying into one arm, and then grabbed a kunai with the free arm. He then turned his head so he could smile at his pursuers, before cutting open three cargo-pockets on his left leg, releasing many rusted, old nails, and they scattered onto the ground.

Naruto almost went crazy laughing when he heard the string of curses coming from the two Chunin he had just given permanent feet problems as he ran into an alley, into safety. By the time Naruto had reached his hideout, he was still snickering about how well that tricked worked, and tried to remember to find more nails like that so he could reload that little trick. Naruto laid the clothes by his tent, and then walked into his tent. The calender Sarutobi had given him he carried in with him, and then marked out the current date, seeing as it was practically sundown.

Naruto yawned as he prepared himself for a little trick he had learnt during the first half of his second year living in this dump... sleeping with your eyes open. Naruto couldn't count the amount of times during his first year that one of those weird talking dogs would sneak in, and start attacking him in his sleep... but he got them back alright... hehehe. But putting that thought aside Naruto relaxed his body and mind, and a few seconds later his face lost all expression, his eyes all of their mirth, as his head tilted down slightly. Falling into a... only slightly comforting, yet alert sleep...

Omake

Naruto expertly snuck up to the entrance of the shoe store, and doing like he saw some other guy do before him, put his hands to his mouth and began screaming at the top of his lungs. "Shoe sale! Shoe sale!" Naruto shouted as he looked both ways down the street.

'Huh. Last time I saw the owner of this place do that the place was flooded before I could even blink...' Naruto thought as suddenly pebbles on the street began clicking around. Naruto this time looked down the streets to see women, of all ages, come running down the streets, huge hearts in their eyes.

"Not again!" Naruto heard from behind him as he turned around to see the shop owner of the store glare at him. "I'll get you back for this later kid!" The owner of the store shouted as he locked himself in his back room. Naruto was just about to jump right in with him... when just then the store immediately became filled to the brim! Naruto just about suffocated before grabbing the shoes he was looking foward to stealing, and then forcing his way through the almost endless sea of shoe-crazed women, out into the streets.

Omake 2

(If you haven't seen the 'Shoes' video on the internet you wouldn't undertand this one)

Naruto knew an easy job when he saw one so he snuck over to the shoes in the diplay window, grabbed then, and almost got away before the guy who was trying to get the shoe onto the fat lady. "Hey brat, I think you have two too many shoes." The guy said as he glared at Naruto, and Naruto glared back.

"Shut up!" Naruto said as he ran out and the guy sweat dropped.

"Oh well... I have bigger problems... literally." The guy said as he looked over to the fat lady, and tried to put the shoes on again, but failed. "Miss, these shoes' style is kinda small... and you're feet are really big." The guy said as the fat lady glared at him.

"Oh..." She said, before proceeding to strangle him.

Omake 3

(I'm on a roll)

Naruto walked in front of the clothing store, and just as he did at the shoe store, with only a slight modification, put his hand to his mouth, and began screaming. "RED LIGHT SAVING'S SALE! EVERYTHING'S 99 OFF! EVERYTHING MUST GO!" Naruto shouted as he was suddenly grabbed by the shoulders by the store owner and turned around.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT YOU HAVE JUST DONE!?" The guy shouted as Naruto shook his head no. "Honey come on, into the bunker!" The guy shouted as they saw his wife running through the store.

"SALE SALE SALE SALE!" She shouted as she picked up random clothes.

"OH NO WE'VE LOST HER!" The owner said as he turned back to Naruto. "I've never really cared about you but... RUN! THIS IS TOO VIOLENT A DEATH EVEN FOR YOU!!!!" The guy shouted as he opened up a section of the floor, jumped into it, and then slammed it shut. Naruto stared, before he noticed that a glass of water that was on the counter began shaking. Naruto turned around to find the most terrifying sight of his life.

Women were coming from everywhere! From down the street, out of apartment windows, off of roofs, out of the alleys, out of the sewers, HELL THEY WERE EVEN PARACHUTING DOWN OF THE SKY! Naruto stared as he tried to run off, but failed before he was trammpled to death of the mob of sales crazed women.

CHAPTER DONE! Don't forget to check out my other stories. R&R!!!


	5. Chapter 5

Naruto: Alone...

My God, another thirty reviews? If this keeps up this story will have more total reviews than any of my other stories! Un-freakin believable! Well now that I got that out of my system, I'd best cotninue with my talking. I would like to thank the one fan who did me the favor and checked out my Love Hina story. Now then, for those of you still wondering where the hell my other chapter updates are, please be patient, its hard coming up with ideas for an ENTIRELY original Chunin Exam, and I'm trying to figure out how I can keep the Naruto in AAS from being too overpowered at this point. Also I'm getting addicted to Civilization 4, as well as The Godfather.

So without further ranting, I wish to reply to my faithful reviewers;

Silver Warrior- Hate to tell you this man, but that's all Sarutobi can do from now on. He's done everything that he could, and now Naruto has to take his life by the reins, sounds cruel I know, but its the way it is.

RobotPirateNinja- Well you're half-right. You see though Naruto will get some attention from now on, it won't be too much. After all, all of his club is in the next class up so they won't see him too much during the Academy. But, while he MAY not do pranks for attention, pranks can be used for other purposes...

FictionReader98- Unfortunetly, as I told Robot, only the upper class have really heard of him (Read on in another response to find out why), so he won't have too easy of a time.

**VFSNAKE**- I think I said in the second chapter he did all that stuff in a river.

Raikiri1991- I know... but it was a sacrifice Naruto was willing to make...

MissNaye- Hey like I said kids will be kids.

**Omegagaurdian-** Glad you liked that part, and its alright if the review isn't long, any review is good.

PaulRap Raptor- Omake is the japanese word for outtake, or blooper.

paintball-gamer- Oh the depressing parts aren't over yet, cause with what I have planned it will be good.

**Dragon Man 180- **It is a strong possibility.

**ZoneshifterD-** Yes it is actually very possible.

shikamaru the nerd- Yep, only Tenten's class have heard about him, after all they are in the Academy, so they'd get the news on certain affairs pertaining to the ninjas of Konoha.

pyro-chan the dragon king- Well I think that after all of his years of hunting wild animals Naruto will find it very hard to pass up eating the delightfully, plump cat...

Well that takes care of the reviews, now lets not wait any longer and start the next chapter of Naruto: Alone!!!!

Chapter 5: Academy, The Worst First Day...

The sounds of chirping birds was the first thing to reach Naruto's ears as he woke up. He sat up in his make-shift tent and yawned as he stretched himself out slightly. He got up out of the tent and stretched more completely as he then scratched himself. Naruto yawned as he walked over to his pile of new clothes and picked up the set of black clothes and walked towards the sewer entrance. He opened up the lid and jumped down into the sewers. Naruto navigated his way around the sewers, careful not to allow any of his new clothes to get dragged around in the muck.

Naruto finally got to where he needed to get to as he saw a bright light at the end of the long, dark, smelly tunnel. Naruto jumped out of the sewage pipe and landed onto the bank of the river he normally washed up in. Naruto looked up at the sky and saw that the sun had not yet rose above the treelines, so he had time. Naruto went upstream a couple hundred feet, afterall he wouldn't want to bathe in the crap of the villagers. Naruto flung the new clothes to the side and undressed on the bank of the river. Naruto then jumped right into the water and swam down a couple feet into it. He came back up to the surface shook himself a bit as he got used to the rather chilly water in the river.

After getting used to the water in the river Naruto floated around a bit, soaking his body in the cleansing water of the river. As sunrise slowly began to approach, the sky beginning to light up slightly, Naruto waded his way through the river water, and up to shore. He shook himself dry for a little while before trying on his new clothes. He had to say, they were pretty nice. His shoes and his coat were both a bit oversized, but the shirt and pants were fine. And he really liked these clothes, they were really the first nice things he has had for a very long time. Naruto then thought about the sewer tunnel, so he took off his new shoes and replaced them with the old, and hiked up the legs of his pants to mid-way up his shins. He didn't want to ruin these things so soon.

He made his way back to his hideout and got packing. He got loaded the pockets in his cargo pants with kunai, shuriken, and ninja wire, all the 'essentials' for Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto looked up at the sky again for an idea on the time. He saw the sun was just now rising over the tree line. He had plenty of time, the old timer did say a couple 'hours', whatever those were, after sunrise. So he'd might as well get some breakfast and then go to that Academy place. Naruto got his trusty burlap sack and ran into town.

At this early in the morning all of the shops were closed, but road-side food places were still open. Since Naruto wanted to get to this Academy place early he decided to find a shop on the way to the Academy. It was actually a few blocks later that Naruto found his target. "Ichi... raku... ramen... what's ramen?" Naruto asked as he slowly read the kanji that were on the Ichiraku Ramen shops flaps. The lights were still off so Naruto knew they weren't awake.

Naruto snuck under the flap and slowly opened the wooden board leading to the kitchen and snuck over to the supplies cabinet (every road-side food shop had one, Naruto learned this after stealing so many goodies). Naruto opened it up... and saw these weird square things... they looked like they were made out of noodles. Naruto picked one up and hit it against the side of a counter a couple times, it was as hard as a rock. Naruto brought it up to his mouth and tried to take a bite...

"YEOUCH! This thing is harder than a rock!" Naruto semi-shouted as he tossed the uncooked-noodle square back into the cupboard. "And its stale! Do people honestly eat that crap!?" Naruto said as he continued looking through the cabinet... and he found nothing but those noodle squares. "What the hell, there's gotta be more..." Naruto said as he heard someone begin coming down the stairs. "Man, I'm outta time!" Naruto thought as he dashed out of the back of the store and back into the streets, figuring breakfast could wait for the day.

Meanwhile old man Ichiraku was just beginning his morning check of the supplies when he noticed something odd... "Why are there teeth marks on these noodles?" Ichiraku said as he glared at the marks. "Damn raccoons." Ichiraku said as he slammed the cabinet closed, and a certain red-headed container of the Ichibi began sneezing like crazy in Suna.

Naruto reached the front of the Academy and stared at the building in wonder. It wasn't as huge as that tower that the weird 'Itachi' guy took him to, but it was still pretty impressive. Naruto saw that there was no one coming, and that no one was there so Naruto sat down on a nearby swing and waited for about and hour and a half, wishing now that he had bothered to try and steal something else, when some kids that were older than Naruto came. Naruto looked at these kids, and saw Tenten in with a group of them, showing off the kunai he had signed for her a few days earlier.

Then Tenten looked in his direction, saw him, and waved at him. The other kids that were with her looked in Naruto's direction as Naruto waved back, and Tenten explained who he was. After she stopped the kids, specifically one with long black hair in a pony tail, with huge eyebrows and huge eyes, looked at him in awe before the girl's did a fan girl scream of 'Kawai' and the guys just nodded their heads in his direction. But the huge eyebrow kid just got this flame in his eye that told Naruto that something bad was coming when he would meet this kid in real life.

But soon those kids went into the building, and eventually kids who looked about his age came, their parents holding their hands as they walked them to the front of the school. While most of the parents gave him a glare that told him to just die on the spot, few of them looked at him with an appraising look. The ones that glared at him whispered something into their child's ears, all the while glaring at him. But the ones that 'appraised' him simply led their children into the building.

Naruto got up off of the swing and went inside the Academy building. Naruto walked around in there for a while, trying to find some sign of where he was supposed to go. He saw a Chunin in the hall and, deciding that he might as well take his chances, walked up to him and tugged on his jacket. "Hey, do you know where new kids are supposed to go?" Naruto asked as the Chunin turned around with a slight smile.

"Sure, its..." The Chunin began saying as he looked down and saw..." ITS YOU!" The Chunin shouted as he pointed a finger at Naruto. "You're the one who did this to me!" The Chunin shouted as he pointed down to his feet. Naruto swallowed a lump in his throat as he slowly looked down... yep it was one of the Chunin he had used the nails on a few days ago, there were so many bandages on his feet they almost looked like a cast. "Now..." The Chunin said as he cracked his neck. "For what you did... I'M GOING TO BREAK YOUR LEGS!" The Chunin shouted as he tried to jump on top of Naruto.

Naruto jumped back and then made a mad dash backwards away from the Chunin, who despite being partially taken care of by medic-nins, was having trouble running after the boy. Naruto rounded a corner and figured that he'd better give this guy the slip. Naruto saw an open room to his left and figured that the room would due. Naruto slipped inside the room, slammed the sliding door shut, and waited until he heard the foot steps of the Chunin pass.

Naruto sighed as he turned around, and was met by the strange looks that many kids his age, and another Chunin with tanned skin, dark hair that was in a pony-tail, and a scar across his nose, were giving him. Naruto, the kids, and the Chunin looked at each other for a few moments before the Chunin coughed a few times and broke the silence. "Naruto Uzumaki, you're late. Mind giving me an explanation?" The Chunin said as he looked at Naruto with stern eyes.

"Well... you see... I was being chased by this Chunin in the hall, so it kinda took me a while to shake him." Naruto said as some of the kids began bursting out laughing, while others looked at him with a 'yeah right' look. Iruka simply put his hand up to silence the kids while looking at Naruto.

"Alright Uzumaki, just get to a seat while I continue role call." The Chunin said as most of the kids went bug-eyed at what he said, other either slept, said nothing, or ate while Naruto sat in a desk that situated him beside this kid with brown hair, with these weird marks on the sides of his face, and a puppy dog... that looked strangely familiar to Naruto... and another kid with black hair tied up in a pony-tail, that was sleeping right next to him.

Naruto heard the pup growl to his right, and watched as the kid stroked its head. "Yeah Akamaru.. he's the one who shaved you..." The kid said as Naruto sweat dropped.

'Great, I'm sitting beside THAT dog's master... today just could not get any worse...' Naruto said as the sliding door opened and he saw... the Chunin that was just chasing him down the hall come in.

"Oh Mizuki, what took you so long." The tanned Chunin said to 'Mizuki' as he walked into the room.

"Well you see Iruka, I was just chasing that Street Fox through the halls and I..." Mizuki said as he looked around the room... and saw Naruto sitting in the class. "... I'll get you later punk.." Mizuki said as he sat down beside Iruka, and Naruto just sighed as he looked up at the ceiling.

'You're just not giving me any breaks today are you?' Naruto thought as he looked back down and waited as 'Iruka' finished the role call and looked up at all of them.

"Alright everyone, my name is Iruka, but you all will call me Iruka-sensei." Iruka said as Mizuki then sat up.

"And my name is Mizuki, and you will call me Mizuki-sensei." Mizuki said as the class nodded.

"And we will, for the most part, be your teachers for the rest of your time in the Academy. We hope that we can teach you all everything you will need to know in order to become excellent Shinobi of Konoha." Iruka said as Naruto began to fidget in his desk. He had been waiting for this for the last couple days, and he was excited to finally begin training for the occupation that would change his life. "So would everyone please get the books that are under your desks and open them to the first page." Iruka said as Naruto practically face vaulted.

'What the hell, the old man told me that we were training to be ninjas, not book worms...' Naruto thought as he reluctantly got the book out and opened it. It was on... oh hell Naruto didn't know what the hell it was about. 'Great... I can barely read a word of this... no way this day can get any worse...' Naruto thought as suddenly Iruka looked up at everyone.

"All right then, has anyone here had any experience in learning how to read kanji?" Iruka asked as everyone, including Naruto (he had a little experience), raised their hands. "Alright then since all of you know how to read then there's no point in teaching how to read kanji." Iruka said as Naruto practically banged his head up against the desk.

'I should've left my hand down...' Naruto said as Mizuki said something that he really wasn't paying attention to, but then noticed him when he pointed at him.

"Why Uzumaki, thank you for volunteering to read some out loud for us." Mizuki said as Naruto's head snapped up, and looked at his, still, raised hand.

'I really should've left my hand down...' Naruto thought as he looked at Mizuki who was staring at him.

"Well Uzumaki? What are you waiting for?" Mizuki said as Naruto gulped.

"Well you see snesei... I really don't know how to read too much..." Naruto said as Mizuki was about to say something before Iruka cut in.

"That's fine, just read what you can." Iruka said as Mizuki looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

Naruto nodded, looked at the first words, in the first page in the book, and began reading. "The." Naruto said as everyone sweat dropped.

"And? Go on." Iruka said as Naruto blushed slightly.

"... That's all I can really read in this book, the other words are..." Naruto said as everyone in the class began busting out laughing. Naruto blushed even more before sinking back into his seat. As the laughter quieted down Iruka cleared his throat.

"All right then, anyone else wish to read?" Iruka said as the hands of other children raised there hands while Naruto sat there, just listening to the kids read out loud, while he heard some make some remarks about him that made him want to beat them across the entire room.

Lunch Time

Lunch time finally rolled around at noon, and Naruto was starving. Embarassing yourself in front of entire class, and trying to read along when you could barely read at all made a kid hungry. Add to that, he didn't have breakfast this morning, and you had one amazingly starving Naruto. Naruto decided to get himself some lunch, but since the Academy didn't provide lunches he was going to have to steal some lunch. Naruto looked over to the door where Iruka and Mizuki were and saw that they were drawn into a deep conversation with each other. Naruto saw his moment to escape and took it, running out of the fence into town.

Meanwhile Mizuki's and Iruka's conversation was just getting interesting. "So Iruka, what was up with sparing the demon brat? Don't tell me you're going soft on us." Mizuki said as Iruka sighed.

"Mizuki, we are Academy teachers, that means that no matter who comes through these halls, even if it is 'him', we must teach equally. I'm not going soft on you all, I'm just following the code handed to us by Hokage-sama." Iruka said as Mizuki chuckled.

"Whatever Iruka, but I just hope that you remember what that thing did to your mom and dad." Mizuki said as Iruka lowered his head at his parents' mention and Mizuki walked off. Iruka had not forgotten what the Kyuubi had done to his family, or presently lack there of, nor does he forget his hatred of the beast. But, as he said just a few minutes ago, the demon was now an Academy student and as a teacher Iruka was to teach the brat as he would teach any other Academy student... no matter how painful it would be to him. Iruka gave a quick glance over the entire area, but did not notice that Naruto had slipped out while he was talking with Mizuki.

Naruto was walking through the streets closest to the Academy, he would only have about an hour to steal some food, shake the Chunin that would most likely be chasing him after he stole some food, eat, and then get back to the Academy before they would notice he was gone. 'Simple enough.' Naruto thought as he got to a dango shop. Naruto cracked his neck, and walked non-chalantly into the dango shop. A few seconds after Naruto entered the shop there were sounds of struggle, dishes breaking, and curses flying.

A few seconds after that Naruto ran out of the dango shop, ten balls of dango in his arms, being followed by the shop owner who was swinging a broom around. A few seconds after that two Chunin were on the scene, and after a few seconds of talking to the dango shop owner they were chasing Naruto. Naruto smirked as he watched the Chunin try to catch up with him, and was about to speed up until one very bad thing happened... remember the shoes that were a couple sizes too big... he tripped because of them.

Naruto fell face foward, into the road, and dragged on a couple feet, the dango he had stolen spilling all over the ground. Naruto got up and began running again, not caring about the food, but being more concerned about his well being. Naruto ran, slipping up thanks to his shoes every now and then. Naruto though, saw his salvation, an alley on the side of the street. He smirked as he ran into the alley, and he was just about five feet into that alley... before he tripped again..

Naruto tripped and fell face first into a puddle, he tried to get up and get away.. but one of the Chunin grabbed the back of his jacket, then grabbed the back of his head, and slammed him, face first into a wall. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" One Chunin said as the other one caught up.

"Well it would appear as though to be the Street Fox my dear friend." The other Chunin said as they both grinned. "Say, why don't you hand 'em over to me, I was always better at 'interrogation' then you were anyway." The second Chunin said as the first one nodded, and threw Naruto to the second Chunin, who caught Naruto by the shoulders and then slammed him, back first, into the other side of the alley, causing Naruto to gasp in pain. "Hey... these are some nice clothes that you stole... tell you what Fox, we won't 'punish' ya too badly, if you show us where the rest of the clothes you stole a few days back are." The Chunin said as both he and his partner began laughing hysterically.

Naruto hated these stupid Chunin, he hated their just God damned cocky attitudes. Naruto gritted his teeth before smiling at the Chunin. "Go to Hell!" Naruto said as he spat in the Chunin's face. The Chunin glared at Naruto for a moment... before a small smirk on his face.

"You know what Uzumaki? I've had a rather bad day today. You haven't exactly brightened it up." The Chunin said as he cracked his neck. "So... allow me a moment or two to relieve some stress, and we'll call it even for your crime, and spitting in my face." Before the blond thief could reply to his 'kind offer', the Chunin immediately slammed his knee into Naruto's stomach, causing the poor boy to gasp for breath again. After a few minutes of slapping Naruto around, the Chunin working out some of his frustrations on the Street Fox's body, Naruto was tossed down onto the dirt, the two Chunin just shrugging.

"Alright, that'll do for now. Later Street Fox... don't try this kind of crap again." The two Chunin said as they immediately sped off, Naruto coughing and wheezing as he tried to regain his breath. Naruto slowly lifted himself off of his stomach and grunted as he got back onto his feet, looking over to a building's window to try and catch his reflection.

Naruto also saw that his face was covered in bruises, the two Chunin doing quite the number on his face. Ordinarily the blond was used to this, after all, it was the risk of survival: get caught, get a small smacking around. Still, Naruto's day hadn't been good at all, in fact, the little blond boy felt terrible before he had run into the Chunin. Naruto closed his eyes for a moment, trying to hold in tears that he knew would be coming... before he felt a warm feeling rush all over his body. As the warm feeling left Naruto opened his eyes to see that... he was completely fine. Naruto touched his own face to see if it were real... and it was. Naruto stood up, albeit a but shakily, and began walking back to the Academy, where it was safe... for now.

Naruto arrived at the Academy just as the children began heading back inside, he saw Iruka at the doors, who saw him coming. "Oh there you are Uzumaki, please hurry up, class is about to start again." Iruka said as Naruto only nodded and carried himself back into the Academy. Iruka noticed Naruto walking with a slight limp... all over, but just shrugged, thinking he must've had some trouble on the swing, or has some trouble with the other children.

After the Academy

Classes at the Academy finally let out, bringing with them the first year students, who were glad that such a boring day was over. They ran out of the Academy building, and they ran to their parents who were waiting with them, carrying umbrellas with them for some odd reason. Naruto walked out, his limp gone, and looked upon them. Most of the parents, as before looked at him with a glare, but also with an amused smile as their children told them about Naruto's inability to read.

But Naruto didn't care about the parents for now, Iruka had talked to him after class and told him that 'He would not allow such ignorance into the army of Konoha, and would give him lessons on reading kanji after school'. Naruto knew it was an insult from the really, really big word at the beginning of the sentence, but he really didn't care. As the parents left Naruto walked outside of the fence that surrounded the Academy... and heard thunder go off.

Naruto looked up in time to see rain begin pouring down on his body. Naruto looked down both sides of the street to see the parents open the umbrellas, and bring their children under the umbrellas with them. Naruto's head lowered as he began walking down the street. His stomach was growling loudly, but Naruto kept on walking, only really doing any other movement other than walking when quickly looting a melon from the melon stand, without the idiot even noticing due to him being so busy with 'Getting the roof of the cart on to protect his precious melons'.

Naruto walked down the alleys to his hide out, which was pretty much really, really wet when he got there. Naruto knew trying to start a fire in the rain would be out of the question so he just went inside of his tent, and began eating a meal he had been waiting for all day today...

Today... was one of the worst days he's had in a long time. And this Academy wasn't nearly as exciting as the old man made it out to be... but Naruto was going to have to go with it, if he ever wanted a life better than eating melon in the rain... then he would have to be tough... he would have to be strong... he would have to never give up... no matter how bad things would get.

Sad Chapter I Know... But Hey That's Life... R&R


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto: Alone...

Wow... at this rate this story will be even more popular than ANY of my other stories. This will probably be the story I will go down in fan fiction history with...

Anyway, off that subject and onto a more... pressing one...

(Stabs self in eyes with knives while bathing in bathtub filled with ice-cold holy water) Well that last chapter of the Naruto Manga was a Fan Girl's/Gay's chapter wasn't it? But, Kishimoto's going to have to do a lot more to cease the process of this manga "jumping the shark" (Colorful metaphor used whenever a tv show's or story's quality begins dropping greatly).

Anyway, onto the responding to reviewers!;

shikamaru the nerd- No, I refuse to do that. I do that and this story follows the fan fiction cliche of 'Naruto leaves Konoha, then comes back and pwns everyone'.

pryo-chan the dragon king- And you most likely will, and you most likely will.

**VFSnake-** ...Think of the Hokage as the President of the U.S. His powers are restricted, except when dealing with military dealings (so he 'could' have demoted Itachi with no good reasons), anything else requires the consent of the Senate (or in this case, the council of Konoha).

Angel of Chaos- ...What?

Jimmy Bonez- Yeah, its called irony.

faern- Yeah, I like doing stuff like that.

uzukun7- Well... I'm going to try to make as much backstory as possible.

keebler-elmo- Yeah, depressing chapters are less popular than happy ones.

badboy0011- Well, if you think of the reasons Iruka gave as an explanation for Naruto's limp, it could also easily explain any blood.

Alex- Well Alex... its called not showing all the cards up your sleeves.

TopQuark- Well in the Anime, Naruto was given money for food, home, and other things. Now Naruto will be more driven in order to succeed so he can have a better life, because those things aren't just given to him anymore.

Dumbledork- Once again, cliche.

**ZoneshifterD-** Well man, I'm sorry, and I think I mostly fixed that. Anyway, I agree with you man, I agree with you... and you're right, ladies do love the tails... grrrr.

kingdom219- Well he'll be street smart, but not book smart... for the most part.

**DragonMan180-** Well, he's getting lessons from Iruka so that'll do.

dragon-cloud16- Well.. maybe and maybe not...

FictionReader98- Yeah, we'll burn that bridge when we come to it.

Amanthoros- If they were big enough...

Akitesyu- Well thank you, but I will not reveal too much about the future.

Alright then, now let's get onto the next chapter of Naruto: Alone, trust me, it won't be as depressing, and I think you guys will like the Omake at the end! Also, the inspiration for most of this chapter came from an unexpected snow storm we had a while back, please enjoy.

Chapter 6: Winter in Konoha?!

Five Months Since Last Chapter

It was a cool, January night in Konoha, and the citizens were out on the streets doing there normal routines. Suddenly, white, crystal objects began falling from the sky. It was snowing, a very rare occurence in Konoha. You see, there's a reason why Konoha is in 'The Land of Fire' and that's because, normally, it hardly ever snows. Now I could get into this big discussion about Konoha being the farthest south of all the nations, and it having very few large bodies of water which would allow it to snow often like in Kiri, but hey that would bore you to death now wouldn't it?

Anyway, it snowed throughout the entire night, and by morning all of Konoha was covered in not a sheet, not a pillow, but a blanket of snow. People were out on the streets, shoveling snow off of the roads, or trying to save any produce they were selling from the cold stuff. Academy children, who normally would have classes at the Academy, were out playing in the white stuff. Since snow was such a rare thing in Konoha, Academy children would normally be excused from classes to play. Playing games of ninja with snowballs instead of wooden kunai and wooden shuriken.

Now children weren't the only ones who enjoyed a winter wonderland. Shinobi of Konoha also enjoyed spending time in the crystalized clouds of fluff. Some Shinobi would use snowballs instead of kunai to practice their accuracy, while others, specifically ones in green spandex, would make snowmen in the shape of a certain silver-haired, cycloptic ninja, and proceed to practice Taijutsu on them, practically melting them before he touched them with his 'GLORIOUS, WINTER-TIME, FLAMES OF YOUTH'.

Other Shinobi saw the snow as a good method for practicing water style jutsu. But once again, these two groups aren't the only ones who enjoy the winter wonderland that was brought to them every few years. Citizens also loved the snowy weather. Many families would make time to take their children out and teach them winter games, like sleding, snowball fighting, and snowman building. While other civilians would turn the weather into a money making buisness by selling 'snowcones', and other would sell sleds they had made for such occasions.

Also, suprisingly, the snow made for a very... romantic background for people. While people from other countries thought that spring and flowers were more romantic, people from Konoha, who were around the stuff so often that they would barely even notice it, thought winter and snow was beautiful. Many older couples enjoying the winter wonderland in each others arms, while younger ones would go out into the woods and... well let's say that what they did was so hot that it melted the snow around them in an instant, and almost caused the grass underneath the snow to burst into flames.

Even the Hokage, an old man, who by all means should hate the snow because of arthritis pains, loved the white weather, and would take the day off from his office job to enjoy the rare occurence.

Yes everyone in Konoha liked the snow a lot... but Naruto Uzumaki, who lived in his hide out in Konoha, did not. Now why does he hate the snow, well to be honest nobody does know. It could be that his ninja sandals were too big, or that his hair would freeze over, like a wig. But I think the most likely reason of all, was that his hypothalmus gland was three sizes too small. But whatever the reason, his gland or his frozen 'wig', he sat in his hide out with a blanket around him, shivering as if he only wore the leaf of a fig.

"HEY WOULD YOU STOP ALL THAT RHYMING!" Naruto suddenly shouted at the narrator.

"Oh I'm sorry." The narrator said as he cleared his throat. "Now on with the chapter." The narrator said as his voice slowly faded out of existence.

The now six-year old Naruto sat in the middle of his hide out, though he had a blanket around his shoulder and was beside a campfire, he was shivering widly. He sat there, shivering and every so often he would sneeze. How he hated the snow, and how he hated the cold. The snow took away every advantage he had in the clear, non-snowy days. He could not sneak around, cause nothing he had was white, he stuck out like a sore thumb anywhere. Also, all of the animals WERE hidden in the snow, so hunting was hard. His easy source of water, for drinking and bathing, was frozen over, or too cold to even get into.

"G-G-G-G-God... da-da-da-da-dammit. Its s-s-s-s-s-so... co-co-co-co-co-cold." Naruto stuttered out from the cold as he sneezed, and rubbed his nose, which was turning red. "I ha-ha-ha-hate the co-co-cold..." Naruto said as he sneezed again. "And I h-h-ha-ha-hate snow..." Sneezing again, Naruto continued his rant. "I ca-ca-can't go an-an-an-anywhere cause I'd b-b-b-be exposed..." Naruto said as he sneezed once more. "ITS COLD!" Naruto shouted as he sneezed three times.

"I-I-I can ba-barely hu-hu-hunt.. and when I-I-I-I do ca-ca-catch something... I CAN'T COOK IT!!!" Naruto shouted as we see that he's roasting a piece of rabbit meat... well roasted would be the word that would be used... had the meat not been completely frozen. So I guess you could say that he was thawing a piece of rabbit meat... over a few embers... everytime he made a fire, the surrounding snow would melt, and the water would put the fire out. "And... ITS COLD!!!" Naruto shouted again as he sneezed five times.

"I c-c-c-ca-ca-can't bathe... CAUSE THE FREAKIN RIVER CAN'T STAY A RIVER!!! AND ITS COLD!!!" Naruto shouted as went on a sneezing spree. Naruto sat there for a second, his little rant warmed him up a little bit, but only for a little while. Naruto snorted a little bit, the mucus in his nose building up again. He sneezed again, and rubbed his nose as he tried to take a bite out of the frozen rabbit meat. "O-O-O-O-OWW..." Naruto said as he put the rabbit meat back over the fire.

Naruto remembered this morning, he had woken up and found the snow covering the entire ground. He hated snow, and today was looking FOWARD to going to the Academy. For the past five months Naruto had been reading, and reading, and reading. He hated it, hated it, hated it. And he also had those lessons from Iruka for the first three months. However at the end of the third month, he learned, mostly... MOSTLY... It was so freaking boring, but he put up with it, because he knew that the only way to get the hell out of the hell whole called his hide out. But, so far, nothing had been as Sarutobi said it would be.

Sarutobi said that he would meet kids his age... no one would talk to him. Either they thought he was weird, or their parents told them not to come near him... or maybe even a combination of the two. Though he didn't really know the kids, he knew mostly about them. There was that one weird kid with the mutt that bit him that he shaved that sat right next to him, they were Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru. There was a kind of chemistry between them... that caused them to absolutely hate each others guts. Naruto also thought that mutt Akamaru was freakin' annoying too!

I mean it was a little dog, and you know how annoying little dogs are when they barks... its not 'ruff ruff' kinda bark, its a 'ipe ipe ipe' kinda bark... the annoying kind. They absolutely hated each other, but when Naruto would study, Kiba would try to distract him, but it was also vice-cersa. Then there was the kid on the other side of him, the lazy one with the spikey pony-tail, Shikamaru Nara. Naruto never really talked to him, and he never even talked to Naruto. So Naruto, never really had any problems with him, and he didn't know a thing about him.

Then there was this kid with spikey black hair who always wore glasses and this trench coat, Shino Aburame. They never really talked either, but he knew that he didn't like him. He didn't know how he could tell... but for some reason... whenever he got near him he heard this buzzing sound, and when he would get really close, it would get louder, and louder, and louder. Something about that just told him 'stay away'! Then there was the plump one... with all of that food he always had... no, stop drooling! Anyway, his name was Chouji Akimichi, and he has these weirdo swirls on his cheeks.

And... he eats... that's all Naruto knew. Then there are these two girls, one's blonde and the other has pink hair that she covers her forehead with... why she covers it I don't know. Anyway that Ino girl is really popular, and the other one... well I don't know too much about her, but she crys a lot... maybe someone died. Anyway, Naruto didn't talk to either one at all, Ino because he couldn't even get close to her without being pushed around by her friends, and Sakura, well he didn't know her.

Then there's Hinata Hyuga... like a few others Naruto didn't know a thing about her... except that she has those eyes. Their kinda cool... but weird too. Anyway that brings me to the final one he knows, Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto figured out that his brother is the one that chased me that one day. He smiles quite a bit, but he avoids Naruto (remember this is a while before the massacre). Anyway, he hasn't really talked to anyone, AND THERE'S NO SUPER COOL NINJA TRAINING! But, Iruka said that they would get a suprise today, and Naruto was a little anxious... but it snowed... and now he had to wait.

And what's worse is that he walked ALL THE WAY to the Academy, in the snow, and then he had to walk ALL THE WAY back to his hide out, in the snow, after he figured out that it was closed for the day... which only took him about an HOUR OF STANDING OUT IN THE SNOW TO FIGURE OUT!!! Naruto sneezed some more, and continued trying to warm up the meat. Naruto took another bite, and when Naruto could finally bite through it he began devouring the meat.

The Seal

Inside the complex sewers that was Naruto's mindscape... well it was blue, and the water was frozen. We hear sneezes coming from somewhere in the sewer, the sneezes being loud and deep. As we travel through we arrive at the seal, which has icicles hanging off of it. We check inside to see Kyuubi, THE GREAT NINE-TAILED FOX, shaking like a leaf in the wind, and with icicles handing out of his nose. "**ACHOOOOO!**" The great Kyuubi sneezed as he used one of his tails to slick the icicles hanging out of his nose away.

"**Gods be damned.,... THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE LAND OF FIRE! NOT THE LAND OF ING SNOWY WINTERS!!!! AAACHOOOOOOOO!!!**" Kyuubi shouted as he continued sneezing and shivering. "**I hate the cold... it freezes my fur...**" Kyuubi said as we saw that, indeed, his fur was frozen in place. "**I am supposed to be a biju of fire... I HATE THE COLD!!! AAAAAAAAACHOOOOOOOOO!!!**" Kyuubi sneezed again as he sat there, continuing to shake like there was no tomorrow.

Naruto's Hide Out

Naruto sat in his hide out a good five minutes after finishing the, partially cooked, rabbit meat. Naruto sat there, just shivering... untilhe just got sick of sitting around and being cold. "Da-da-dammit, I do enough sitting at the Academy... I-I-I'm going to ex-ex-excersize... at least it will warm me up..." Naruto said as he ran to his stack of clothes and put on another jacket (he already had two on, might as well put on a third one). "There we go, now to go running." Naruto said out loud to himself as he began going at a jogging pace.

Konoha Park

Sarutobi was enjoying this wonderous day. There was white snow covering the normally green trees, and the bare roads of Konoha. Though the flowers were no longer in bloom, most of them not even being alive anymore, the snow made for a wonderful background in the normally green Konoha. He took a deep breathe of the cool air, and expelled it, feeling the slight tingle from the cold air. Sarutobi took out his pipe and lit it up, and began walking again before he heard the sound of snow crunching behind him.

He turned to look behind him, and smiled to see Naruto running towards him. Sarutobi waved while smiling, and when Naruto saw him he did the same, only he kept on running, and he slipped on some ice that was on the Park's path, and since he didn't exactly have his arms to balance him out so... "OW!" Naruto shouted as he landed flat on his ass. Sarutobi chuckled a bit as Naruto slowly stood up, rubbing his sore, cold rear-end. Sarutobi walked over to him, and they both smiled at each other.

"Well hello there Naruto, decided to take a walk on this fine, snowy day?" Sarutobi said as Naruto raised an eyebrow at him.

"Fine? What's so good about this white crap?!" Naruto said as Sarutobi raised a eyebrow back at Naruto.

"You couldn't possibly mean that Naruto, I mean this snow doesn't come very often, many people enjoy it." Sarutobi said as Naruto looked a bit shocked.

"People actually enjoy this stuff?" Naruto said as Sarutobi chuckled.

"Naruto, you can't honestly tell me that you've never played in the snow before." Sarutobi said as Naruto kind of stared at him. "You have played in the snow before right?" Sarutobi said as Naruto just kept on staring at him with a 'I don't have a clue what you're talking about' look. "You're beng serious aren't you?" Sarutobi said as Naruto nodded and Sarutobi kind of chuckled. "Well come on then, its my day off, I might as well teach you." Sarutobi said as Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Teach me what?" Naruto said as Sarutobi ruffled his hair.

"To enjoy this kind of weather." Sarutobi said as Naruto almost began laughing at such a crazy idea. Him, enjoy the snow? Hell would probably freeze over before he began enjoying the snow. But Naruto decided to humor the old man and followed him. Naruto and Sarutobi walked out into the middle of the woods, and Sarutobi turned around to face Naruto, a smile upon his old, wrinkled face. Then suddenly, he pointed behind Naruto with widened eyes. "Hey look! Its a deer with a broken leg caught in the bushes!" Sarutobi shouted as Naruto spun around, pulling out a kunai while drooling like crazy.

"WHERE!" Naruto shouted as he looked around for the prey. Then suddenly, something unexpected happened... he got nailed in the back of his head with some slushy ball of crap, getting hit so hard that he fell to the ground. When Naruto stood back up, he felt the back of his head, brought some of the slushy crap into his hand, and looked at it. "Snow?" Naruto said as he turned around to see the aged Hokage giving him a wide grin, while tossing a ball of snow up and down in his hand.

"And yet another falls to the alure of a meal." Sarutobi said jokingly as Naruto got back up and rubbed the back of his head.

"What the hell was that old man!?" Naruto shouted as Sarutobi threw another ball of snow, only this time it hit him in his face.

"What did I tell you about language Naruto?" Sarutobi said as Naruto wipped the snow off of his face. "And as for what I threw at you, it is called a snowball. You see you make a snowball by bending down." Sarutobi said as he bent over. "Getting some snow." Sarutobi said as he picked up a large pile of snow. "Packing it together." Sarutobi said as he packed the snow and Naruto watched, completely entranced by this 'snowball'. "And then you..." Sarutobi said as he through yet another snowball at Naruto, and began laughing at his own antics.

"You think you're so smart old man!?" Naruto shouted as he scooped up some snow, made it into a ball, and threw it at Sarutobi, who just leaned to the side to dodge it.

"Sorry Naruto, but you'll have to..." Sarutobi began before he got nailed in the face by a snowball thrown by Naruto. Sarutobi blinked and saw that Naruto was cracking his neck and hands before...

"RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAWWWWWWRRRRRR!" Naruto shouted as he began throwing snowball, after snowball, after snowball at Sarutobi. And Sarutobi was struck time and time again, but eventually the 'flurry' of snowballs became an entire freaking avalanche. Several snowballs were thrown at Sarutobi, so much so that he was eventually covered in snow, all except for his Hokage hat and pipe. Sarutobi looked on in shock at Naruto and his skills with snow, also Naruto had used so much snow, that the area around him was completely bare. "Now what have ya got to say to that old man!?" Naruto shouted as Sarutobi smirked underneath all of the snow. Sarutobi perked up his amazing ninja hearing, and heard the sound of kids in the nearby section of the woods, and not just any kids...

"What do I have to say to that Naruto?" Sarutobi said as he shook off the snow and walked towards Naruto who was smirking his little heart out. "Well all I have to say is..." He said as he suddenly picked Naruto up by the jacket with both hands. "HAVE FUN!" Sarutobi said as he spun around three times, and threw Naruto towards the area he had heard the, as he called it, 'Naruto Uzumaki 'Street Fox' Fan Club'. "Well that's my good deed for the day." Sarutobi said as he took a deep drag of his pipe and then began walking again.

"DAAAAAAAAAAMN YOOOOUUU OOOOLD MAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNN!" Could be heard as Naruto flew through the sky. Meanwhile, in another clearing, children of the upper-class were playing around in the snow. We see a younger Rock Lee, running up to a younger Tenten, and was about to say something before... "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!" A blur screamed before...

**CRASH**

The blur landed head first into the snow, going so deep into it that only his legs stuck out of the snow. The children sweat dropped at this, and began to slowly walk towards the pair of legs that were sticking out of the ground. Lee and Tenten ended up being the ones 'chosen' to pull whatever the hell it was out of the ground, and see what it was. They each got a leg, and began pulling on each leg, and eventually they pulled Naruto out of the ground. Naruto shook around a few times to get the snow out of his hair, before meeting the yes of the kids who were looking at him with widened eyes and slacked jaws. "Ummm... hi." Naruto said as suddenly he found himself surrounded by every second year in the clearing.

"Oh my God its you! The Street Fox!" One kid shouted as Naruto kind of backed up. "Are you here to play with us?!" Another shouted before someone tapped his shoulder. Naruto turned around to see Tenten.

"Hey Naruto, remember me?" Tenten asked as Naruto tapped his chin for a second.

"Oh yeah, you're the girl that I gave that signed kunai to." Naruto said as she shook her head up and down several times. "By the way what did you do with it?" Naruto asked as Tenten got a thoughtful look on her face.

'I put it in a case so I could preserve it.' Tenten thought as she smiled.

"Oh you know, just keeping it around, its going to be worth a lot one day!" Tenten said as Naruto smiled before he felt another person tap him on the shoulder. Naruto turned around this time and saw the big eyebrowed, bug-eyed kid that had those flames in his eyes a few months ago.

"Hello Street Fox, my name is Rock Lee!" Lee almost shouted as Naruto stared at this kids eyebrows.

'They look like caterpillars...' Naruto thought as suddenly a snow flake fell onto one of Lee's eyebrows, causing it to move around a bit as Naruto kept on staring with even wider eyes. 'Maybe they are caterpillars...' Naruto thought as Lee continued speaking.

"And I would like to ask you something!" Lee said as Naruto raised his eyebrow.

"Okay... shoot." Naruto said as Lee nodded.

"A year ago, during a practice session, I, as well as everyone else, discovered that I am unable to use either Ninjutsu, or Genjutsu... you know what those are correct?" Lee asked as Naruto nodded. Iruka had taught everyone a little bit about Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, they haven't taught them a thing about how to use them, but he knew what they were. "Anyway, I wondering, do you think I have the ability to become an excellent ninja with just Taijutsu!" Lee said as everyone began chuckling around him.

"Sure." Naruto said as everyone stopped chuckling and looked at Naruto. "I mean I know no Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, and look at me. If you get fast enough and strong enough, you may be able to become a ninja, I'm sure." Naruto said as everyone's eyes went wide and they all stared at Naruto. "What?" Naruto asked as Lee suddenly started crying.

"Thank you for your words of encouragement Street Fox! I promise that I will become an excellent ninja!" Lee shouted as he began doing kicks in to the air. "I will train my hardest, first I will start by running five laps around the Academy without stopping, and if I cannot do that I will do one-hundred push-ups, and if I cannot do that..." Lee ranted on as everyone just stared at him with a growing sweat drop on the back of their heads.

'Hope he doesn't make a habit out of this...' They all thought as Lee suddenly stopped his rants and turned to Tenten.

"Oh Tenten, before I forget, where's Neji, I thought you said as invited him to come and play in the snow with us already?" Lee said as Tenten shrugged.

"Beats me, after I told him he just said that he had to bring someone along with him." Tenten said as suddenly they heard a barely audible shout from behind them. They all turned around, to see two figures, one taller then the other, running towards them at a more civilian speed.

CLIFFHANGER!!!!!

OMAKE 1

"Sure." Naruto said as everyone stopped chuckling and looked at Naruto. "I mean I know no Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, and look at me. If you get fast enough and strong enough, you may be able to become a ninja, I'm sure." Naruto said as everyone's eyes went wide and they all stared at Naruto. "THUS IS THE DECREE OF STREET FOX!!!" Naruto shouted as everyone dropped onto their knees.

"Yes Street Fox, we will obey!" They all said as Naruto quickly made a pile of snow and stood upon it.

"Good my children! Now go, go and reek havoc in Konoha!" Naruto shouted as all of the upper class nodded and ran into Konoha, an hour later, the sounds of chaos could be heard. Naruto stood upon his pile of snow in the clearing and laughed like a mad man. And that day was forever remembered as the beginning of the STC (Street Fox Cult).

Well everyone, sorry for the cliffhanger, but I got to be getting to school now, see ya.


	7. Chapter 7

Naruto: Alone...

Yo, what's up!? Anyway, as for the accusation of the last chapter, and this chapter being filler... well you're sort of right, but at least mine are better then Kishi's eh?. Anyway, the last chapter was a hit, with most of you, and I hope that this chapter will also be nice. And... now the question posed at the end of the last chapter is revealed... WHO IS COMING WITH NEJI!?

But before we go on with the story let's get on with the reviews;

Egghead- Who you calling evil genius...

Austln- Wow, good guess.

MissNaye- Nah, it sounds funny, but I am not quite sure I would want to make that happen, it would lean so far into Mary Sue ville it wouldn't be funny.

Intelligo- Wow, thanks.

FictionReader98- Yeah, it was an idea I got from the snowstorm in my town, I just thought of how MY Naruto would work out in the snowy weather. The Grinch style opening, well I honestly couldn't resist, and as for Naruto's rants, hell I'd be pissed off if I were him too. And on Kyuubi, I just figured whatever Naruto goes through, surely the Kyuubi would feel the effects as well. I'm going to, MOST LIKELY, keep the teams the same, but that idea is still under the microscope. Yeah, Sarutobi the old geezer can manage to crank out a good deed every now and then. And as for Neji is bringing... read and see.

Angel of Choas- Oh I see.

Raikiri1991- Yeah I get that a lot.

**VFSnake-** Is it even possible for Naruto to become crippled?

**DragonMan180-** Mean, maybe, but did Naruto think it was mean, no, so Sarutobi's in the clear. And good job finding that out.

Artemis Ignitan- Oh yeah!!! (Whistles as a truck loaf of smowballs pulls up) MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Andrain John- Not quite yet... but it may, or may not, start this chapter.

nwfairy- LONG LIVE STREET FOX!

shikamaru the nerd- Its not a filler, just wait and see. And NO! I SAID NO MARY-SUE-NESS, OR CLICHE-NESS!!!

allicat- Just go to scenic Konoha.

wingsofeagle- Actually he did that long before he met Gai.

Silver Warrior- Eh... its true.

WiseOne- You don't have to worry about a thing sir, I'm just in a rut as of now, so don't worry. And also, that's why I make my story lines original, so that they do raise the bar.

Program X.A.N.A.- Well... I am rather funny.

**ZoneshifterD-** Thanks, came up with it myself. But, you're forgetting one thing. Though they CAN help him, if they do their standing within the village will drop, and their clans will be looked down upon. Just because a clan leader could help, doesn't mean they would, after all they do have to think about what's best for the clan... at least they can't do it... themselves... but they can spread... 'rumors'.

Avatarofrage- Just you wait and see man. And listen, I know its been a while since I had updated this, but man I have real life things that have to be taken care of. Please understand that this is not the only thing that's in my day.

Whew, at any rate, I suppose that since most of you thought the chapters were filler, that was the reason behind the lack of reviews. I hope I get a lot more this chapter. Anyway, lets get on with the next chapter of Naruto: Alone!!!

Chapter 7: Winter in Konoha?! Part 2

_Last Time_

_"Oh Tenten, before I forget, where's Neji, I thought you said as invited him to come and play in the snow with us already?" Lee said as Tenten shrugged._

_"Beats me, after I told him he just said that he had to bring someone along with him." Tenten said as suddenly they heard a barely audible shout from behind them. They all turned around, to see two figures, one taller then the other, running towards them at a more civilian speed._

_And Now Onto The Chapter_

"Hey, Neji! How come its been taking you so long to get here?" Lee shouted as the Neji figure, Naruto assumed, gave him an annoyed looked. As Neji and the other person, who was a girl, approached Neji stood straight, while the girl took some deep breathes. "Who's she Neji?" Lee asked as Neji sighed.

"This is my cousin, Hinata-sama, I couldn't come without bringing her... its my duty..." Neji said as the girl stopped taking deep breathes and looked up.

Naruto immediately recognized the girl as the Hinata from his class. She was wearing a light purple, heavy, snow jacket, with some snow pants and some mittens. He noticed that her wear was very different from this 'Neji' kid's, cause he only had on a very worn snow jacket, with most of its color gone, and torn snow pants, with old ratty mittens. Naruto looked at them both before he spoke. "Hey I know you, you're in my class aren't you?" Naruto asked as the girl simply nodded.

"Who's this kid?" Neji asked bluntly as Tenten and Lee smirked.

"That's right, you were sick the first day of the Academy weren't you Neji?" Tenten asked cheekily as Neji nodded and her's, along with Lee's, smirk grew.

"Well Neji, this is..." Lee began saying as he leaned towards Neji and began whispering in his ear. Neji nodded a few times as Lee spoke, before his eyes immediately widened and he backed up and stared at Lee.

"You mean he's!?" Neji said as Lee nodded. "But he's just!" Neji said as Tenten began nodding as well. Neji began staring at Naruto, which made Naruto a bit uncomfortable for a moment, before bowing in front of him. "Hello Street Fox-sama, my name is Neji Hyuga. It is nice to finally meet a..." Neji said as he looked up at Naruto. "Kid such as yourself." Neji said as Naruto stared a bit wide eyed before smirking and rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey... nice to meet you too... and please, call me Naruto." Naruto said as Neji nodded and Lee tensed up again.

"So, shall we begin!?" Lee shouted as Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Start what?" Naruto asked as everyone looked at him.

"Oh yeah, well you see we planned a snowball fight earlier this morning, would you like to join us Str... Naruto-san!?" Lee shouted as everyone excitedly began asking him to join. Naruto smirked as he scratched the back of his head.

"Well... I don't know..." Naruto said cheekily as everyone began moaning, even Neji sighed a bit, and Hinata just stared a little. Naruto smiled a fox smile as he looked at them. "Alright, but only because you all asked so nicely." Naruto said as lot's of kids began cheering and they all tensed up.

"Alright then everyone..." Tenten began saying as she looked around and everyone nodded. "HIDE!!!" Tenten shouted as she, Lee, and most of the other kids ran into the forest, while Neji grabbed Hinata's hand and ran into the trees. Naruto simply stood in the middle of the clearing and watched as he cracked his knuckles and smirked.

"This is gonna be fun!" Naruto shouted as he cracked his neck, remaining in the middle of the clearing.

The Forest

Lee stared at Naruto and smirked as he watched Naruto stay his ground. "Naruto-san! You're bravery is admirable! But I'm afraid that it will be your downfall!" Lee shouted as he suddenly heard steps coming from behind him, he quickly turned around, to see Tenten, with no snowballs... "Tenten, why aren't you armed to attack me... and how did you find me?" Lee asked as Tenten sighed as she shrugged.

"Well first off Lee, I could hear your rant from about a mile away, and for why I'm not armed..." Tenten left off as Lee raised an eyebrow.

"Because I told her not too arm herself yet." Lee heard come from his right as he looked to see Neji and Hinata come towards him. "We're planning on waiting for the other to attack Street Fox together, they stand a better chance of taking him down together, rather than do it seperately." Neji said as Tenten nodded. "However, we'll wait behind so we can get our own piece of him, should they fail." Neji said as Tenten nodded again.

"Really? Cool!" Lee said as Tenten and Neji sighed. "I mean, with the stories we've been told, I think that this would be the best plan of action, eh?" Lee said as Hinata tugged on Neji's robe.

"What is it Hinata-sama?" Neji asked as Hinata kinda backed up and and tried to squeak out a few answers. After repeatedly failed attempts, Neji sighed as he continued staring at her. "What is it Hinata-sama?" Neji asked, annoyance apparent on his voice. Hinata widened her eyes before looking at Neji again.

"Wh-who is this... Street Fox?" Hinata asked as Lee and Tenten gasped loudly as they stared at Neji.

"Neji you have not told her about Street Fox!!!" Tenten shouted as Neji winced.

"Well... my cousin and I don't really ever talk... too much..." Neji said as Hinata nodded along with him.

Lee straightened up and turned his head away from Neji. "Neji, I am ashamed of you. As a member of our class, and our unofficial club, you're rights as a member depended on you telling one person about the Street Fox!" Lee said as Tenten nodded and Neji sighed.

"Well, let's tell her now then." Neji said as they nodded and all turned to Hinata, who shrank underneath their gaze. "You see Hinata-sama, that boy there is a person in the village commonly refered to, as the Street Fox." Neji said as Hinata nodded. "We all first heard of him back during a day at the Academy, one of our teachers came into class, covered in a bit of dirt, and looking a bit depressed." Neji started as Tenten nodded and jumped in front of him.

"Yeah, and when our other teacher asked him what happened, the he only said one thing." Tenten said, before she paused, building up dramatic tension. She then bent down towards Hinata and got close to her ear. "Street Fox." She whispered in a highly conspiratal tone. She then backed up and continued. "Anyway, after that we asked who this Street Fox person is." Tenten said as Lee then jumped in front of her to continue for her.

"At first no one would tell us... but then when we found people who would... what we learned..." Lee said as Tenten got beside him.

"Was very, very..." Tenten said as Neji got next to her.

"Incredible." Neji said, shocking Hinata slightly with his minor amount of enthusiasm. Lee then jumped fowards, shocking Hinata a bit.

"The Street Fox is in fact the most skilled of all theives in Konoha." Lee shouted as he backed up and placed a hand on his chin. "Now I know what you're thinking 'But aren't thieves bad', well that would be true, if we were talking about any other thief! He is an honorable thief, only stealing during the day when people can see him, and never harming an innocent person! He is also a master of the steal and the chase!" Lee shouted as Tenten pushed him out of the way.

"Rumor has it that the Street Fox has stolen from various food, clothing, and ninja supplies stores, almost every single time getting away!" Tenten said as Hinata began listening intently. "But everytime he was caught, he would always somehow survive his encounters and come back the next day! Is even said that he has gotten away from both high level Chunin, AND low level Jonin!" Tenten said as Neji then calmly walked in front of her.

"Rumor has also has it that the Street Fox has the ability to jump off the sides of buildings, disappearing in an instant, not leaving a trace of himself behind, and yet show up a few hours later without a single scratch on him." Neji said as Hinata's eyes widened as Neji continued. "Another one his nicknames is also Shadow Fox, for it has been rumored that he has the ability to slip in and out of the shadows of Konoha, without even being noticed!" Neji said as Hinata became entralled with the story. "But whatever you call him, Street Fox..." Neji said as Lee stood beside him.

"Shadow Fox." Lee said as Tenten jumped beside him.

"Or even a dirty thief." Tenten said as they all brought their fist up.

"One thing's for sure." They all said at once. "That the Street Fox is..." They all said as they began turning around. "NARUTO UZUMAKI!" They all shouted as they pointed at Naruto, who was still in the middle of the field waiting for someone to start throwing snowballs. At his point Tenten had stars in her eyes, while Lee had flames in his, and Neji was just smirking. Hinata... was star struck. She couldn't believe these stories, someone her own age with such an amazing reputation among the older kids, ESPECIALLY Neji, who wasn't all that impressed by anything at all!

But Hinata... just couldn't be convinced... "Ne-Ne-Neji-san..." Hinata said as Neji, Lee, and Tenten looked at her. "Ho-how can someone li-like him be th-this am-am-ama-ama-amazing person?" Hinata asked as all three of them looked at her with looked at her with suprised, or in Neji's case, slightly suprised looks. Then Tenten just smirked as she put her hand on her chin and gave her a 'Oh you don't know, you don't know' look.

"Well Hinata-san, if you don't believe us just watch, the first step of the plan was to send out a 'scout' to check out how good he is..." Tenten said as Neji nodded and Lee just shook his head up and down.

"That's a good idea, a good idea indeed you two!" Lee shouted as they all walked towards the edge, Hinata walking with them. Back with Naruto he was sitting there, still very impatient to get this fight started... he would've thought that it would've been more exciting with people close to his own age rather then the old man... but this was boring... very, very boring. Naruto just began yawning as he suddenly heard someone come from behind him. He looked back to see some kid rushing him, a snowball in his hand.

He threw the snowball at Naruto... and Naruto closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them... he say a stone hurdling at him for a moment... Naruto's eyes narrowed for a moment before the snowball came very, very close to him. Naruto the snowball in his right hand, did a quick spin around, and then chucked it back at the kid who threw it at him, hitting him in the face, and knocking him flat onto the ground. Naruto smirked, those years of dodging and catching stuff in mid-air was coming in handy.

Neji, Tenten, Lee, and Hinata stared at what just happened. First off Naruto, THE Street Fox, just GRABBED something out of mid-air, and then sent it hurdling back to the kid who threw it. The kid was currently crawling out of the area, having been hit, and effectively knocked out of their game. Then Lee just smirked at Hinata in a 'told you' kind of way. Naruto just cracked his neck as he picked up two snowballs, putting one in each hand. He smirked, and then threw both snowballs into seperate trees. A few seconds after that two kids fell out of the trees, and onto the ground.

"Come on, do you think you could hide from me? I've hunted moose that made less noise than you two did!" Naruto shouted in a boastful tone as he smiled his great big fox smile. Naruto had to say, it felt good being able to boast about something without getting his ass kicked. He liked it... he liked it a lot. "Come on, I can take all of you losers on!" Naruto shouted as he thrust his fist into the air and smiled a huge fox smile. Then... all of the kids, with the exception of Neji, Lee, Tenten, and Hinata, jumped out of their hiding spots, holding snowballs in their hands.

"Oh damn..." Naruto said out loud as he sweat dropped. The kids threw tons of snowballs at Naruto, coming from all angles at him. Naruto looked around for some hole in their defenses... and when he didn't find one... he decided to make one. Naruto quickly dived into the ground, and began tunneling under the snow. Everyone was shocked as they looked on at the spot where Naruto dived down into the snow. All of them thinking 'is the snow really that deep'. But then they began thinking 'well he was kinda short'. Then all of a sudden, one of the kids were dragged down under the snow.

Everyone panicked for a moment, and everyone decided that maybe staying on the ground wasn't exactly safe, so they all climbed up into the trees. When they all got up there, everything was silent for a moment, well that was before they heard muffled shouts and looked in the direction in which they came. They saw that the Street Fox had gotten behind one of them while they were in the trees and now he was... FALLING BACKWARDS OUT OF THE TREE!!?!?!? He and the kid he caught fell into the snow, not leaving a trace besides the entrance he created.

Meanwhile Naruto crawled out of the snow about twenty yards away, smirking as he pulled the kid out along with him. Naruto , was excited, he was really freaking these kids out with his tricks, he thought. Naruto had not had so much fun in his entire life, and this was useful. He was learning tricks that he could've never thought up of if he just stayed huddled up in his hideout, and he was scaring this kids shitless with his cunning tricks... now how to knock the rest of the kids out of the game? He already pulled two of his last minuted tricks... maybe he could come up with another one?

Naruto snickered as he thought up of his next trick, and he dug under the snow again. Meanwhile the kids were in the trees, now even more alert then ever. If the Street Fox was able to climb a tree without any of them noticing, who knew what else he could do. Then they all noticed a little tunnel trail forming, obviously Naruto digging under the ground. One kid jumped out of the tree, smirking a ton, and then shoved his hand into the snow, grabbed a handful of something, and then pulled... a Street Fox out of the snow.

Naruto was struggling to get out of this kid's grip, but the kid had a pretty solid grip on him. "Well I gotcha Street Fox!" He shouted as he leaned foward. "So how are you going to get out of this one Street Fox!" He said as Naruto began smirking at him.

"Well, I'm going to get out of this because you forgot a very simple lesson." Naruto said as he began making gagging sounds. "Ne'er." He said as the gagging sounds got louder. "T'y." He said as the guy could've swore he saw something in the back of his throat. "To ca'ch a S'reet 'ox!" Naruto gagged/shouted as he spewed slush all over the other kid's face, causing him to drop Naruto. As soon as Naruto touched the ground he quickly made a snowball and then threw it into the kids face, adding insult to injury.

The kid got up, muttered something about sneaky foxes, and then left the clearing, to join the other losers. Naruto smirked... as suddenly all the kids jumped out again, all of them armed with individual snowballs. Naruto sweatdropped, but kept that familiar smirk on his face. They all began throwing their snowballs, one at a time... and Naruto began working that Street Fox magic of his. Naruto grabbed each snowball as it came to him, and chucked it at a different victim each time. He kept on doing this until all of the kids that were throwing the snowballs were knocked on their backs.

Naruto looked on at his moaning victims as they squirmed on the ground. He smiled a large smile as he counted each one... until he discovered a small problem. Four were missing, Neji, Lee, Tenten and that Hinata girl... this fight was not over yet... he had four more victims. Meanwhile Neji, Tenten, Lee and Hinata looked on in wonder at Naruto, mystified by his ability. It was more amazing then any rumor they had heard before. Lee just steadied his breath as he picked up a snowball.

"Lee what are you doing!?" Tenten said as Lee just looked at her.

"If anyone's going to do this... its going to be me..." Lee said as he began running into the clearing, screaming a battle cry. Naruto looked at him with a smirk as he charged at him. "TAKE THIS STREET FOX!" Lee shouted as he launched a snowball towards Naruto. Naruto leapt back before the snowball hit him, and then bent down.

"RRRRRRRAAAAAAWWWWWWRRRRR!!!!!!" Naruto shouted out as he began hurling multiple snowballs at Lee. Lee got hit with snowball after snowball at Lee, till the shower of snowballs became a hurricane of snowballs. Eventually the hurricane of snowballs died down, and we see Lee covered in snow, with only his two large eyebrows sticking out of the snow. Naruto smirked as he picked up another snowball, and started throwing it up and down in the air. "One down, three to go." Naruto breathed out as continued tossing the snowball up and down.

Now Tenten, Neji, and Hinata remained, all of them staring at Naruto. Tenten then picked up a large amount of snowballs, and loaded them up into her arms, with the help of Neji of course. "Alright I'm going in." Tenten said as Neji nodded as Tenten began heading towards the, what they assumed to be, northern edge of the clearing. As she reached it, she took a deep breath and then ran out into the clearing. "Street Fox!" Tenten shouted as Naruto looked at her, and then sweat dropped at the large amount of snowballs she had on her.

"You're mine!" She shouted as she jumped high into the air, though in reality it would've only been about ten, maybe fifteen, feet into the air. As she reached the height of her jump she began throwing all of the snowballs, at a very high rate of fire. They all came towards Naruto, so many of them coming so very fast, and in so many different directions. Naruto at first considered diving back into the snow in front of him, but Tenten had sent a lot of snowballs that way, he wouldn't be able to escape that way. So, if you cannot go foward... fall back.

Naruto dropped the snowball he was carrying, and then crossed his arms, and fell back into the snow. As the snowballs hit the Street Fox-less snow Tenten came back down to Earth and then created another snowball and ran over to the hole Naruto created, but found he wasn't there. As she landed she raised an eyebrow. "Wow, he sure can move fast." Tenten said as she heard something behind her. She turned quickly to see Naruto jumping out of the snow. She threw her snowball at him, and he threw his new one at her... but she noticed something...

His snowball is a lot bigger than hers... hers was about the size of a boulder, about six inches in diameter... his was about twice as big. As their snowballs collided his ran hers over, literally, and then rushed into her face, knocking her back on the ground. Tenten laid there for a second before she began giggling. Naruto looked at her weird, before she spoke to him. "I was just hit by a snowball made by the Street Fox!" She shouted as Naruto face vaulted into the ground.

"Yes I know!" Naruto heard from behind him as he saw Lee coming out of the snow that covered him. "Who would've thought it, right Tenten?" Lee asked as Tenten nodded and Naruto sweat dropped. "Well good luck with Neji Street Fox!" Lee shouted as he and Tenten rushed towards the losers part of the clearing. Naruto was truly confused at this point... he hated getting nailed in the head with one of the old man's snowballs... older kids, strange.

Neji sighed as he straightened up and looked at Hinata. "Hinata-sama, I want you to stay here, okay?" Neji said as Hinata nodded, she herself staring intently at Naruto, awed by his abilities. Neji nodded as well before moving to the, supposently, southern side of the clearing. He stood there, standing against the tree, keeping Naruto, or Hinata, from seeing him. Neji then flashed through a few seals, ones that he shouldn't know... he then took a deep breathe and then opened his eyes, strange veins appearing on the sides of his eyes. "Byakugan!" He said silently as he began looking around.

He saw through the trees and looked at Naruto, he got out the exact distance, angle, and direction Naruto was in. He was facing the opposite direction of him, he was about ten yards away, and he was about fifteen degrees to the right of the tree Neji was behind, he could measure this because of his... blind spot. Neji bent down, got his snowball ready, keeping his Byakugan on Naruto, before standing back up. He kept his Byakugan on as he jumped from behind the tree, only deactivating it as he touched the ground.

"Street Fox!" Neji shouted as Naruto turned, only to see a snowball coming right at him. Naruto knew a few things, he couldn't dodge it, it was coming too fast at him. He couldn't block it, he would get knocked out of the game. So... there was only one thing to do. Naruto picked a kunai out of his jacket pocket, after all, when you're Street Fox, never leave home without it, and he chucked it into the snowball, cutting it, not clean, in half. Neji's eyes widened as he saw the kunai land in the snow in front of him, and watched as Naruto plucked the two halves of the snowball in the air, and chucked them back at Neji.

Neji was not struck by one snowball, but two halves of a snowball. Naruto smirked as he watched Neji fall back into the tree, and just as he was getting the snow off of his face... he noticed the tree branch limbs were shaking... and then he remembered the snow on the limbs. Neji was burried under at least two feet of tree snow, pine cones in it and all. Naruto stare for a moment before Neji's head popped out of the snow, with snow and pine cones in his mouth. Naruto stared for a moment before breaking out laughing, holding his ribs as he stood.

Naruto continued laughing, till he saw Neji's eyes widen as he tried to say something, but all that came out was 'Mhmhmhm' which of course caused Naruto to burst laughing again. Finally Neji spat out all of the snow he had in his mouth and looked at Naruto with a suprised look on his face and screamed, "NARUTO LOOK OUT!". Naruto just got to turning around before getting nailed in the face by a snowball. Everyone, including Neji, gasped when they saw what had just happened. They all looked at the culprit... and it was Hinata.

Hinata shrunk under everyone's gaze, and she shrunk even more when Naruto rubbed the snow off of his face and stared at her with narrowed eyes. But as Naruto began laughing out loud everyone looked at him with an estranged look on their face as he just gave out a deep, belly laugh. Naruto finally stopped laughing and smiled at Hinata with a fox smile. "Wow you're pretty good, I didn't even notice you while I was laughing! I'd better keep my eye on you if we ever get into another snowball fight!" Naruto shouted as he began laughing again as Hinata blushed lightly.

Naruto smiled as he looked at all of the others, causing them to smile a bit too, after all, his smiles seemed to be infectous. "Well come on, isn't there anything else to do in this weather? Come on!" Naruto shouted as the other kids got up and ran over to the clearing and began playing a bunch of other winter games. Winter games like building snow forts, making snow angels, and building snowmen (which Naruto was at first excited about, at first thinking they would be making a MAN out of snow, only to be disappointed when he was wrong).

But eventually, the sun began lowering under the hills. All the kids began going home, and Naruto went back to his hideout. Naruto got into his tent, after re-kindling the fire, and taking off a few of the jackets he sat down in the tent. He looked around... and saw the snow melting. Before Naruto would've loved the fact the snow was melting... but. "Awww man, the snow's melting..." Naruto moaned as he laid down. "Oh well, I'll just have to wait for the next one!" Naruto shouted as he laughed before going to sleep.

OMAKE

As the kids were building their snowman, Tenten reached into her pocket and pulled out a old, rusty ninja headband. "Hey guys let's put this on him!" She shouted as all of the kids agreed. They put Hinata on Neji's shoulders, and had her tie it on. And as she finished... the snowman began shaking, his round bottom turned into legs, his coal eyes and mouth turned into regular eyes and mouth, and his button nose turned into a nose. The kids stared at him for a moment as he blunked before smiling.

"Happy Bir..." Was all he got out before a loud BOOM resounded through the area and the snowman's head blew into pieces. The kids jumped back before looking in the direction of a man, holding a long metal object that had a hole in the end that was smoking. He was wearing some ninja clothes, a ninja mask, and an unmarked headband on. The only thing that could identify him was a large, golden 'A' on his chest.

"Good, that copyright infringement is gone." The man with the 'A' said as he noticed the kids staring at him. "Well enjoy the rest of the story I wrote out for you kids." The man with the 'A' said as he suddenly disappeared.

Well everyone, ENJOY! AND REMEMBER TO REVIEW!!!


	8. Chapter 8

Naruto: Alone...

Hey hey everyone, Arganaut here with the latest chapter of Naruto: Alone. Some of you wonder, why am I not doing some of my other stories. Well for the Love Hina one.. its hard to type out 10,000 words with everything else I do. As for the other two... well, of course, there's originality I have to worry about... but there's one more. I only right when I'm inspired, when I have plenty of ideas coming to me. Right now, I'm at a block with those two, most of which is caused by the difficulty of coming up with an original part for those stories.

I'm not going to ask you all to be patient, you have been patient for a long time. But what I will ask is that while you're pissed off for me not updating those, to understand that I have a life, and I have more than one story, and that I do not schedule myself for writing, I do what I do when I can do it.

Now, with that out of the way, I can get on with the reviews, which I have to say are a lot;

obliviandragon- It may be coldblooded, but it was funny.

Intelligo- Yeah, thanks. Hinata has possibilities in the fiture.

MissNaye- True, true. With all of the plans I have for the future Naruto needs all the help he can get. As for Neji... hehehe... wait and see, I'm going to rock your socks.

**VFSnake- **Well at this point its more like hero worship, or admiration, however you want to look at it, it'll take a while before it goes too far (maybe a year or two... I have some pretty big events planned out).

Artemis Ignitan- Well... I suppose that was predicatble in way of it being NaruxHina, I just thought it was a cute idea.

Silver Warrior- Neji... I have some ideas.

**Dragon Man 180-** KILL FROSTY! And good idea, at first I didn't plan on more snowball fights, but that's a hilarious idea. And that was incredibely cute.

Ninja Wolf 25- Actually that omake was inspired by the new movie 'Hot Fuzz'.

FictionReader98- Well think of it like this, if you heard of someone who lived a shittier life then you, but still managed to overcome it, and become even more abundantly cheerful then yourself, wouldn't that give you a new prospect on life? But... I do have as twist that will come around during the Chunin Exams. And... yeah that does foreshadow something rather large in the future... its an idea that I dreamt up for beyond the time skip... its big trust me. Unfortunetly... the largest attacks on Naruto have yet to come...

Matt-kun- I am very funny. That is what I have been told many times before, many, many, many times before now.

**ZoneshifterD-** No not really, it was easy to put myself into the thing, after all I had always wanted to kill Frosty. And I'm glad you thought that Hinata was cute.

Nosomo- Me.

**shika-kun49- **Hey man, I haven't heard you for a long while either. But hey, its good to here from you now. Anyway, glad you like this story, as for me not updating the others, just look above. I loved the Omake too man. And as for your story, I'll probably take a look at it later, but don't really count on it, I'm so busy with everything... I barely have enough time to type this all out...

PaulRap Raptor- Well trust me pal, its gonna be a while... a long while.

Now that those reviews are out of the way, time for the next chapter of Naruto: Alone!

Chapter 8: The Uchiha Massacre! Clash with Itachi!

Close To A Year Later

Konoha Streets

It was close to a year after the snowball fight between Naruto and his 'Street Fox Fan Club'. Many people in Konoha would tell you that during that time... well not only the amount of items being stolen by the Street Fox have increased, but also his rate of escape was reaching new hieghts. This was for two reasons, first off he was seemingly getting faster, though not to the point which he could escape the best Chunin or low-ranked Jonin. There was a second reason, that reason slowly but surely playing out right on the very streets of Konoha.

We go down to the local market area, to the butcher shop, a common place for the Street Fox to steal from, and see a little girl, looking to be about four years in age, with blonde hair going down to her shoulders, walking into the butcher shop, wearing just rags and a blanket over her shoulder. She was crying, and many of the customers, and even the managers and employees, walked up to her. The manager stepped up to the girl and kneed down to her level. "Now little girl, why are you crying?" He said as the girl sniffled and looked up to his level, many tears in her eyes.

"M-my-my mommy and da-da-daddy left me-he-he!" She said as she began sobbing again, and many of the customers began tearing up. "Th-th-they said that th-th-they didn't want me!" She cried out as many of the women in the shop began crying openly.

"Th-then why don't you go to the orphanage little girl?" The manager said as he began tearing up.

"Th-th-they said that they couldn't ta-ta-take care of m-m-me... they said that th-they couldn't support my ne-ne-needs! So they left me out in the rain!" She shouted sobbing and sniffing with each word, many of the customers both male and female openly crying at this point. The little girl took off the blanket and spread it out. "Wou-wou-would you please give me so-some food... I'm s-so hungry..." She said with tears as the manager began wiping the tears coming out of his eyes.

"I'm sorry little girl... I can't give out free food!" He said as the girl began crying again. Then suddenly one of the customers dropped a piece of meat into the blanket.

"Then we'll pay for it!" The customer shouted as many agreed with her, tears in all of their eyes. One buy one, each customer dropped a piece of meat into the girl's blanket. As each piece of meet entered the blanket, the little girl's eyes began glowing. When it was full the little girl tied it up, and slung it over her shoulder, and gave a soft, tear filled smile going out to all the people who had given her food, causing their tears to come out some more.

"Th-thank you everyone." She said as she began walking out. "Th-thank you for your ki-kindness." She said as she left the butcher shop and entered an alleyway as she walked she kept on smiling that soft smile. "What kind people, what generous people, what nice people, what..." She said as she looked over her shoulder to see how far back the streets were. When she saw she was far away enough her small small turned into a familiar foxy grin. "WHAT SAPS!" She shouted as a cloud of smoke surrounded her.

As the smoke cleared we see a familiar blonde, wiley, sneaky ninja in training standing there. His fox grin plastered over his face as he stood there. Naruto's attire had been the same as close to a year ago, however he had grown into it a bit, but it was still baggy on him. His blonde hair was a bit long and untamed, but Naruto thought that just added to his image as 'Street Fox'. And the blanket that had been flung over his shoulder, was now a full burlap sack.

Naruto snicked as he walked down the alleys, ever since he had gotten down that transformation jutsu he had been able to steal more easily then ever. In fact, it all started the day after the snowball fight... well he could tell you about it, but let me show you instead...

Flashback

_Naruto was sitting in his place in class as he did every single day. Today his teachers were a bit late showing up so he and his classmates just sat there, some of them talking amongst themselves. They all talked, and or waited, for several minutes before Iruka and Mizuki showed up, smirks plastered on their face. They began taking role, and when they were finished they looked up at the class. "Good morning class." They said with the smirks on their faces._

_"Good morning Iruka-sensei, Mizuki-sensei." The entire class said, albeit in different tones, in unison._

_"Alright then class, we want you to get your books out." Iruka said as the entire class groaned and got out their books. _

_"And now we want you to throw them into the center of the room." Mizuki said as everyone just stared at him with a suprised look. "Go ahead do it!" He said with excitement as much of the class began throwing their books into the center of the room, some enjoying it more then others. "Now do you all know why we had you do this?" Mizuki asked as the entire class shook their heads no._

_"Because the reading and writing parts of the class are, mostly, over." Iruka said as the entire class looked at him with a shocked look. "From now on, most of what we're going to be doing will be practical, and hands on learning!" Iruka shouted as many of the children jumped up in celebration. "Now then, for a couple days we're going to go over you're FIRST seal." Iruka said making many of the kids, save for a few of the clan kids, gasp. "Now then, let's begin studying the Ram seal!" Iruka said as he began drawing a picture of the Ram seal on the board._

_"You see class, the Ram seal is the primary seal in many jutsu, you see what it does is activate the chakra that is located in the Sea of Chakra." Iruka said as he say many kids watching intently. "Which if you have indeed been keeping up with your studies you would know that it is located at the stomach... though the Akimichi's sea would probably be an ocean." Iruka said as he began chuckling, as did others, but Chouji simply began shaking as he looked up._

_"WE'RE NOT FAT!" Chouji shouted as many looked at him with a wierded out look. "WE'RE CHUBBY!" He shouted as he punched his fist into the air._

_"... Are you done Akimichi-san?" Mizuki said as Chouji just sat in his desk and mummbled something about chubby people._

_"... Anyway." Iruka said as everyone's attention went back to the front. "Like I said the Ram seal stimulates the chakra in the Sea of Chakra, and then allows the user, granted they have enough chakra control, to use it in any part of the body, or in any jutsu. In fact every jutsu we'll be teaching you over the next few years will involve the Ram seal." Iruka said as everyone nodded. "Now then, we're going to be going over this for a couple days before we actually try the seal so let's get to work." Iruka said as much of the class moaned, should have known that the stupid reading and writing wasn't completely over yet..._

_A Couple Boring Days Later_

_It was two days later, and the first thing the kids did after role was called was go out into the training field of the Academy, where trees with targets and rings could be seen around the entire field. Iruka and Mizuki stood in front of the group with smirks on their faces. "Alright now class, we're going to see if these past two days have been fruitful for you all." Iruka said as Mizuki nodded. "We're going to call you up, one by one, and see if you can get to your chakra." Iruka said as Mizuki nodded again._

_"Not only that, but if you can summon up you're chakra, I'll be measuring it." Mizuki said as many of the kids were bouncing about with excitement. "Alright then... Shino Aburame please step forth." Mizuki said as Shino came up. The rest of the class went in the same direction, the children coming up in alphabetical order. All of the clan kids that went were able to draw out their chakra, taking major ones like the Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata Hyuga only a few seconds to gather it, while taking Shino Aburame, Shikamaru Nara, and Chouji Akimichi about a half of a minute._

_It took other clan and house members like Kiba Inuzuka, and Sakura Haruno a few minutes to get their chakra out, due to chakra training not exactly being on their clan''s to do list. Ino Yamanaka had not gone, but they expected for her to do very well. But right now.. it was a certain Street Fox's turn. "Naruto Uzumaki." Iruka said dryly as Naruto stepped foward with a nervous look on his face. "Please make the Ram seal and get your chakra out." Iruka said, yet again in a dry tone._

_Naruto nodded as he made the Ram seal and began focusing on his stomach. He stood there, in the same position... for ten whole minutes. He could hear many of the kids snickering behind his back, not only that but he could also hear his teachers doing the same right in front of him. After another five minutes Iruka stepped foward with an amused look on his face. "Alright Uzumaki, you can stop now, don't worry about it..." Iruka said as Mizuki grasped his shoulder. "What is it Mizuki-sensei?" Iruka asked as Mizuki simply pointed towards the ground Naruto was standing on._

_Iruka looked, and his eyes widened at what he saw... there were small circles of dust going around Naruto's feat, and there were also rocks, jumping around on the ground. Naruto ground his teeth together, and tensed his body up as he began focusing even harder on his stomach... and then it happened. Wisps of blue chakra, larger then all of the other kid's began surrounding and encircling Naruto, causing dust to kick up into some of the other's eyes._

_Naruto eventually opened his own eyes, and looked on with great excitement at the chakra that was encirling him. While Mizuki and Iruka stood off to the side staring at the wisps of chakra. "Mizuki, what chakra level is he?" Iruka asked as Mizuki swallowed a lump in his throat._

_"... Its at least mid-Chunin..." He said as Iruka just stared at Naruto._

_"... Oh..." Iruka said as he began feeling like he was going to faint._

Flashback End

Since then Naruto's been doing laps at the Academy, he's been practicing using his throwing weapons, and he's been learning more about chakra. Now then, one may wonder 'why doesn't Naruto do this all of the time' well you see, despite the crimes Naruto could get away with using the transformation jutsu, he finds that he still likes the thrill of the chase. So, every now and again, Naruto will not use the transformation jutsu, and just plain old out manuever his would be catchers like the old days. After all, he needed his exercise.

It was the weekend now, Saturday to be precise, and that meant that there was no Academy today. However kids could come to the Academy and use some of the facilities around there for practice. Naruto chose not to, for two very obvious reasons. One, he had better things to do with his time, like get food and water. And two... they would keep him from getting within twenty feet of it. 'I guess they're already embarrassed enough by me, they don't need me getting any better.' Naruto thought as a boastful smirk came onto his face.

Naruto finally arrived at his hideout, which over the years had not changed too much, barely even at all. The only noticeable things were the rotting pile of meat in one corner, which had rats picking at it. "Too bad, that pile went bad already... oh well." Naruto said as he walked over to a clean corner and place the meat there, and also put some mouse traps (stolen from a store) around the meat, which he would let the rats eat as soon as it went bad.

"Hmm... I guess I'll eat some... beef.. with chicken... and fish." Naruto said as he pointed to each item, the beef in the pile he just got, the chicken that was roasting over the fire (remember 'Fox in the hen house'?... hehehe) and the fish he had yet to clean and gut. Naruto went over to the tent, and off to one side was piles of shuriken, kunai, and nin wire. He picked up a nice sharp kunai and walked over to the fish. You see, ever since Naruto first 'bought' from Tenten, he's been going there ever since.

Though the weapons weren't cheap though, to get some of them he would have to give Tenten... a tale of one of his most recent robberies, hunts, or chases. Alright, maybe they were cheap, but Naruto wasn't complaining, and whenever Tenten's dad got home... it seemed as though he didn't notice, according to Tenten. Also, Tenten says that things in her class are going well too, saying that everyone loves the stories he gives her, and that everyone can't wait for snow to come so they can have another whack at him.

Naruto chuckled whenever Tenten told him that, saying that if he ever got hit by a snowball again, Hell would freeze over... he'd make sure of that. But anyway that's not what was currently running through Naruto's head. What was running through his head was yesterday at the Academy. It was one of the worst days Naruto's had in.. well a a few days... First off, he was late... damn him and his appetite... then there was Taijutsu practice. Now the reason why this would be bad for Naruto was because he had no formal Taijutsu training. So basically whoever he fought... would basically kick his ass... if only he were allowed to use kunai...

But anyways, that's besides the point. Today, his partner was Sasuke Uchiha... and once again no matter how hard Naruto tried to punch him, he would just use something he called his 'clan Taijutsu' and woop his ass... and of course Naruto get's laughed at for being beaten... so yeah he was pretty pissed off today. But Naruto was not one to just sit still, oh no, he was gonna do something about this... he was gonna kick his ass next time. But... then again... why wait? Naruto looked up at the sky, it was getting late, and Sasuke would be heading back to his clan's place soon. Naruto smirked as he got up and began running through the alleys leading to the Uchiha District.

By the time naruto navigated his way around the clan district it was really late. It had been a long while since Naruto went down that path with that Itachi guy, so the details of how to get around were sketchy, and he got lost a few times. Naruto began walking, and was not three steps into the clan district when he smelt something... something that by now was so familiar to him that he could pick it out of anything... something that he himself was saturated with because of beating upon beating upon beating...

Blood... and lots of it...

Naruto glanced around the area before picking a kunai out of one of his pockets. He ran against a wall and began sneaking around the area, something that became instinct to him whenever he could just feel something was wrong. Naruto kept on sneaking till he saw a figure, running a bit wearily from a house. Naruto got away from the wall and quickly began following that figure. He followed it for about five blocks, trying his best not to be noticed by it, when the figure ran into a alley. Naruto followed the figure into the alley, and was suprised to see it slumped up against the wall taking deep breaths.

"Dammit... it takes so much chakra to use it... I would've never believed it unless it tried... it for myself..." The figure said as Naruto began approaching. But what Naruto didn't notice was the can he was about to step on.

**CRUNCH**

The crushed can sounded as the figured instantly turned to face Naruto.. and the face of the figure was one that Naruto was not quite expecting to see. It was Itachi Uchiha, the guy who caught him a year ago, and he was covered in blood. "You..." He said under his deep breaths as his eyes narrowed. Naruto glared at him as he got a second kunai out.

"What the hell are you doing?" Naruto asked as Itachi let out a slightly amused chuckle.

"I could very well ask you the same thing... raising a weapon to me." He said as Naruto snarled at him. "But, to answer your question... just look around you... all this, was my doing." Itachi murmered, Naruto's eyes flashing wide as he looked around at the immediate area, seeing all the corpses, sliced open, bleeding profusely all around him.

"WHAT? Are you crazy or something!" Naruto shouted as Itachi looked at him, with Sharingan eyes.. that appeared to be fading fast.

"I was simply testing myself. I wanted to see what I could really do..." Itachi said as he looked at Naruto with a calm look, a look that was betrayed by his eyes which showed only pure insanity. "I wonder, though... given what you are... if you could provide me with a better test?" Itachi said as he put his sword back into its sheath.

Naruto looked at Itachi with a feined look of courage, but on the inside he was beginning to panic. But he wouldn't let this crazy prick know it. "Heh, what makes you think you can do too much better against me then last time... boxer boy." Naruto said, his voice only quivering slightly. Itachi sent Naruto a grimace, not wishing to recall that memory. But the grimace went away as he replaced it with his normal calm look.

"Last time... I was on orders..." Itachi said as he pulled out a small pill out of his pouch. "This time, it doesn't matter." Itachi said as he popped the pill into his mouth and chewed it up, and swallowed it. Then suddenly Itachi's body just seemed to expand a bit, and the fading Sharingan was brought to full force in his eyes. Itachi closed his eyes as he smirked. "Now get ready Street Fox, be ready for the power of the..." Itachi said as his eyes snapped open, revealing a shuriken like spiral in his eyes. "Mangekyo Sharingan: Tsukuyomi!" Itachi shouted as suddenly Naruto felt like he was leaving his body.

Tsukuyomi

In once instant Naruto was still at the clan district, but in the next he was strapped to a cross in some sort of red place, with red everywhere. Then all of a sudden Itachi appeared in front of him, his sword drawn and ready to strike. "For the next 72 hours, I will be stabbing you in liver, I hope you're ready for this Street Fox." Itachi said Naruto closed his eyes, too afraid to see what was going to happen. But when the pain never came he saw that Itachi was just standing there, fear in his eyes as he looked at something behind Naruto.

Though Naruto didn't know it, so he just figured he was afraid of him. "Oh look at this, are you afraid of me! Well you should be, I mop the floor with you if I wasn't strapped to this freaking cross thing..." Naruto kept on talking, though Itachi wasn't paying attention. What Itachi was paying attention to was the chakra that was leaking into the dimension. It was an orangish-red, in fact it was its color that kept him from noticing it sooner.

Eventually the chakra began taking shape, and it shaped itself till it was in the shape of a giant gate... then the chakra began solidifying, turning into the giant gate it was shaped after. The gate had eight bars, and in the middle of all of the bars was a piece of paper with the kanji for 'seal' on it. But that isn't what is currently causing Itachi so much distress... what was causing him distress was the giant pair of red eyes that were staring at him, and a giant, toothy smile that was being licked by a tongue.

Suddenly a 'rope' of the chakra shot out of the cage, and grasped onto Itachi's leg, pulling him onto the ground and then pulling him past the cross that Naruto was stuck to... much to Naruto's chagrine. "OH COME ON! You dragged me here and now you're just going to run away! You're a wuss!" Naruto shouted as Itachi tried to dig his hands into something, and when he couldn't he was dragged all the way into the cage... and was let go?

Itachi, though, didn't take a moment to think about this, and made a mad dash for the gate's opening... only to be stomped on by a giant hand-like claw. Itachi screamed as he felt most of the bones in his body be crushed, and then screamed as he felt himself being picked up by said claw. He was lifted all the way till... he was face to... snout with the Kyuubi.

"**You Uchiha truly are an impudent lot... did you, a sprite in comparison, truly think you could wonder into this plain of existence, drag my feeble host's mind here... and then proceed to destroy it...**" The Kyubi said, the Nine-Tailed Fox darkly chuckling as he did. "**Hate to inform you... but if anyone is destroying this brat's mind... its me...**" The fox said in truly venomous tone... before licking its chops. "**Though... I must say... six years without a single interaction with another thing... its made me hungry... for more than just... 'company...'**" The fox said as Itachi's eyes greatly widened with a great fear, already the Uchiha bringing his hands together, trying to refocus his chakra despite the pain.

"**And now... be honored... as you will serve as MY FIRST MEAL IN YEARS!**" The great demon fox said as its jaws flew open, the demon fox merely tossing Itachi's body towards his gullet.

"Dispel!" Itachi shouted all the way into the Kyuubi's jaws, that in the next moment clamped shut.

Real World

Naruto and Itachi snapped back into the real world in the next instant. Naruto falling on his butt thanks to the... well wierd ride is all he could say about it, and Itachi... Itachi stummbled backwards, fell onto his knees, and threw up blood and digested food all over the ground. Itachi looked up at Naruto, and glared at him with his normal eyes, his Sharingan deactivating due to the stress of the situation. Itachi shakily stood up onto one leg, keeping his glare on Naruto.

"I swear... I will get you for this insult one day..." Itachi said as he used the remaining chakra given to him by the pill he took, and ran off.

Naruto looked around, he began sensing ninja in the distant coming towards the district. "Hmmm.. could they blame me for all of this..." Naruto said out loud as he thought. "Hmmm... they hate me, I'm techincally a criminal, I have a reputation, they hate me, there's a pile of throw up and blood next to me, they hate me..." Naruto said as he began sweating. "I'm getting the hell out of here." Naruto shouted as he ran down the alley he was in, escaping for the night.

Omake 1

Naruto was spending fifteen minutes trying to gather his chakra, and Iruka just looked at Naruto with an amused look. "Come on! I haven't got all day! I wanna see what the great Street Fox's made of!" Iruka said as Naruto cracked his eyes open.

"You want me? YOU GOT ME!" Naruto shouted as he began tensing up, and an aura of chakra began engulfing him, and rocks began raising off up the ground. Eventually full wisps of chakra began flying around Naruto, to the point where dust covered the entire area. When the dust cleared the kids looked on to see Naruto standing up straight, looking in the direction of Iruka and Mizuki... who were not wearing their normal clothes...

Iruka and Mizuki were wearing this wierd armor, with these large shoulder pads on them (I don't need to go any further), and Mizuki was wearing this strange device that was over his left eye. "Mizuki..." Iruka said as he turned to Mizuki. "What does the scouter say about his power level!" Iruka shouted as Mizuki took the scouter off of his eye and held it in his left hand

"ITS OVER 9,000!" Mizuki shouted as he crushed the scouter into pieces.

"WHAT 9,000?" Iruka shouted.

NEW CHAPTER! REMEMBER TO R&R FOLKS!


	9. Chapter 9

Naruto: Alone...

Hello my loyal readers, I don't know what's been going on, but I've been getting idea, after idea, after idea for this story. Anyway I've been thinking on how I can get Iruka to be supportive of Naruto, if at this point its possible at all, I've had a few ideas, some more rediculous then others. I've come down to this last one, hopefully it works just fine. But that's beyond the point, at any rate, I've decided to time skip the story again, I felt as though it was the best thing to do, since so many of you seem to be getting rather twitchy.

But, onto the reviews;

**VFSnake- **Woah man, calm yourself. Anyway, on the entire blaming him thing, just wait.

rasengan86- Well I figured that since Naruto's and Kyuubi's minds are 'linked' it should be able to interfere with that sort of thing.

**DragonMan180- **Well think about it, he was basically tied to the cross, so since the Kyuubi was far behind him he wouldn't be able to see it.

Angel of Choas- No super powers, NO!

Tashio- Because, as Naruto assumed, should he be caught spying on or stealing something so important, people could really get him.

ArmorofGeddon- Hehehe. Sorry for the joke then, but it was funny huh?

pyro-chan the dragon king- Who could forget 'Its over 9000!'?

iunno, I haven't noticed that till recently, I'll try to fix it.

**ZoneshifterD-** Then I hoped I fixed Itachi's OOC in that last chapter. And I'm sorry you didn't like it.

Artemis Ignitan- That little push did not, so I hope that answers your question.

NoOne- Actually, as far as I understand, the sensei suffix is used for all teachers, even if they're not your teacher... as far as I understood.

madjestervince- Have I heard of ytmnd, who hasn't heard of ytmnd?

Sauronia- Thanks, its always nice to hear a compliment.

FictionReader98- ... You catch on quickly. And yes, you're partially correct, the Konoha Council will indeed find a way to use this against Naruto... one step foward, two steps back. Hmmm... I'd say at this point it would be difficult for Naruto to get control at this point (especially considering all the times Naruto has now come into contact with Kyuubi's chakra). Actually Itachi snapped out of it after the first bite. Since Itachi was consciously trying to break the Genjutsu, and with the combination of the sheer amount of pain inflicted by the bite, it would have caused overall collapse of the Genjutsu.

Akitetsyu- Well you forget that such a thing is impossible unless they are a ninja, but once Naruto becomes a ninja... well I'll consider it.

Well now that's over with, let's continue with the next chapter of Naruto: Alone!

Chapter 9: One Step Foward, Two Steps Back

That Very Night- Council Meeting Room

Sarutobi as well as many other members of the Konoha council were patiently, or in the case of the Inuzuka representative impatiently, waiting for the arrival of Fugaku Uchiha, for they could not begin a meeting without him. The meeting, they all expected, would be about the number of ninja in Konoha, the status of Konoha versus the rest of the Shinobi world, population of Konoha, and it would somehow work itself into crime, which would ultimately lead to a discussion about Naruto.

Sarutobi, despite how grim the situation was every time Naruto would walk onto the sidewalk, was beside himself with amusement, seeing how he could ruffle the feathers of most of the clan heads of Konoha so very easily. He knew, however, that as long as nothing huge happened, Naruto would remain safe. However it would seem, irony, would come into play tonight. As they sat patiently, a group of ANBU ran into the room, startling many of the council members and making Sarutobi jump a bit.

"Woah, woah, woah, hold up fella. Can't just come barging in on a meeting like that!" Tsume began shouting as the ANBU ran straight for the aged Hokage and stopped right in front of him.

"Hokage-sama, the Uchiha clan, they've been killed!" The ANBU shouted, effectively shutting up Tsume's rant about respect and making many of the council members whisper around to each other. "We've already sent several ANBU squads to search the city for possible suspects." The ANBU said as most of the council still whispered. They all knew what this could mean, after all, there were very few with the power to kill off an entire clan... many thought that perhaps Orochimaru had returned. In fact, it was that thought that was running through Sarutobi's head, making him feel more tense then he had ever had been... not since the night he confronted Orochimaru in his lab and found out...

The old man shook his head, trying to get rid of such vile images, and turned to the ANBU captain of that group, knowing that he, perhaps, knew of Orochimaru's style of killing. "Tell me... were they disfigured in anyway? Besides normal weapon or jutsu damage?" Sarutobi asked as the ANBU captain shook his head no, causing great relief in not only Sarutobi but many of the clan heads. "Then tell me, how were they killed?" Sarutobi asked as the ANBU captain sighed.

"Simply put they were all just sliced up... we found only one survivor..." The ANBU captain said as he shook his head. "It was Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi-sama's younger brother." He said, bringing relief to many clan heads, relieved to know that there were still Uchiha in Konoha. "When we found him... it was weird, it was as if he was in a comatose state. He wouldn't respond to us verbally, and didn't even seem to notice us... he just sat there. We took him to the hospital before we came here." The ANBU said as Sarutobi took a deep drag of his pipe.

"Hmm... that would mean the one who did the killings had a high mastery of Genjutsu to do such damage..." Sarutobi said to himself as he looked back up to the ANBU. "Speaking of Itachi, did you find his body amongst the other corpses?" Sarutobi asked as the ANBU simply shook their heads no.

"No Hokage-sama, Itachi-sama's body was not amongst the massacred Uchiha's... but we did manage to find two clues to who may have done the killings." The ANBU said as everyone began paying attention. "First off, we found a pool of blood, and a trail of blood leading out of an alley, we presume it to be Itachi's since there was no body near it, meaning that he may still be alive somewhere." The ANBU said as everyone noticed him shake a bit. "The next clue came from some ANBU who were stationed near the Uchiha district... they said that... they sensed... a small bit of demonic chakra... and only for a second..." The ANBU said as Sarutobi got a worried look on his face.

'Uh oh...' He thought as it happened.

"Looks like some of our caution was well placed Sarutobi-sama; by the sounds of it our resident demon-in-waiting has decided to destroy the Uchiha clan!" One of the council members shouted as others either began shouting, either in agreement or disagreement.

"The Uchiha's were one of our most powerful clans, they couldn't have been killed easily. If the ANBU sensed demonic chakra coming from their compound, then it all ties together in a nice little bow: the only thing we know of that could possibly destroy an entire clan in one night is that little demon" Tsume said in a somewhat low tone as Shikaku Nara raised to his feet.

"What are you talking about, he's just a kid! How could a kid kill an entire clan?" Shikaku responded to his fellow shinobi as Tsume turned towards him.

"Don't you think it was possible that this entire time the demon was just taking his time, waiting for a time that we would be completely vulnerable to his wrath?" Tsume said, sounding irritated, as she turned to Shibi Aburame. "What about you Aburame, you agreed with a lot of us years ago that the kid was a threat." She said as Shibi looked at her before standing.

"As true a statement as this is... I find that I must disagree Tsume-san." Shibi said, shocking everyone in the room with his statement. "As Shikaku said, the boy is just a child, with limited ninja training, even if he could draw upon the fox's power, I very much doubt he'd know how to use it to commit such heinous acts." Shibi said as Sarutobi nodded. "Also, the ANBU said that they only sensed the chakra for a moment, and a small amount at that, if he truly did commit the crime then they would've sensed a larger amount, for a longer time. After all, it would even take a demon a while before being able to kill an entire clan. Besides, the severe damage to Sasuke Uchiha could have only been done by a highly advanced Genjutsu, one the likes of which the child should know, or should be able to perform with its limited chakra control."

"Finally, the question of 'why now' must be raised. The Uchiha aren't weakened, or haven't been weakened since the fox's initial attack. It seems... peculiar that a clan, who's specialization in Genjutsu, and weariness of Naruto Uzumaki as the fox's bearer is well known, would find themselves the victim of even a surprise attack at such a peak in their power." Shibi finished his statement, sitting back down as a small murmuring rang throughout the room.

No one could deny the logic of Shibi's arguement, though some in the room were more doubtful of it than others. Case in point was when a different ninja representative stood up, drawing the attention of the council chamber.

"Hokage-sama, if I may?" The representative asked slowly, Sarutobi nodding his head towards the ninja. "As we all are well aware of Naruto Uzumaki, or Street Fox as they call him around town, is a master of stealth and can stay hidden for long periods of time. It could be that the fox may have had enough power, even while keeping it down to kill the Uchiha's. Let's not forget that not every member of the family are great ninjas, so we cannot account for mass numbers alone. Its possible that he slipped in amongst the Uchiha and did away with them silently when he could, and that the great amount of energy that the ANBU felt was the child being forced to temporarily release its energy in order to survive." The sole representative's argument brought more mutterings to the chamber, Sarutobi taking a deep breath as he watched the discussions continue.

'... I can't lie, on the outside looking in this looks increasingly worrisome for Naruto... he's the only person in the village with a known source of demonic chakra within him, putting him as the only conscious person to have been there while the massacre would've been taking place...' Sarutobi thought, stroking his beard slightly as he tried to think. 'Still, even if what I believe is true, and Naruto is innocent... that again leaves him as the only conscious person we have that could inform us of what happened...' A sigh escaped the old man's lips as he turned his attention back to the room. 'Whatever the case, we need to bring him in and figure out what he knows.' Sarutobi thought as he took whistled loudly, gaining the attention of the bickering council members.

"If you all will be quiet, I'd like to propose something." Sarutobi said as most of the council went silent as Sarutobi took a drag on his pipe. "We'll bring Naruto here and interrogate him. If you all think you're so sure about this, then we'll ask Naruto himself." Sarutobi said as Tsume stood.

"Fine enough, but its not like we can just ask 'hey, did you murder an entire clan tonight' without expecting him to lie about it." Tsume said, Sarutobi nodding in concession to this point.

"We'll bring Ibiki-san into the picture, he should be able to tell whether or not he's lieing or not. After all, he's never failed us before." Sarutobi said as everyone nodded, Sarutobi turning to the ANBU. "I want you to bring Naruto Uzumaki in alive. Physical harm to the boy is to be avoided if at all possible." Sarutobi said as the ANBU nodded before disappearing suddenly. Sarutobi sighed as he sat down, he then looked at the council members. "Now then, the only thing left to do now is wait for their return." Sarutobi said as the council members sat, and began waiting.

Streets of Konoha

Naruto ran through the alleys of Konoha, ducking and dodging between alleys, sometime jumping into garbage cans to avoid some ANBU who were scouting through the area. Naruto didn't know why these masked men were running through Konoha, but he could only guess that it had to do with Itachi killing his clan. Having more than once gotten involved in the loop that was crime, Naruto knew that he was probably not exactly going to be in for a good time if they brought him in... being the only living person to have come out of the district and all. When Naruto saw that the streets were emptied he snuck out into the shadows of the street. He needed this street route to get to the alley that lead directly to his own, after all, the one that he normally took to his hide out from the Uchiha district was saturated with ANBU activity.

Naruto was half-way down the block when all of a sudden about three shadows appeared behind him. Naruto turned around to see three ANBU standing behind him. They all stared at him for a moment before front most one took a step foward. "Naruto Uzumaki, we are here to take you to the Hokage." The ANBU captain said as Naruto stared at him for a moment. Naruto remembered the time Itachi told him this, and it went better then expected, so Naruto nodded.

That was when things screwed up. Two of the ANBU walked behind Naruto, one of them grabbing both of his arms and pulling them behind his back, while the other began forming seals. "Wait what the hell is this!" Naruto shouted as the ANBU captain sighed.

"Uzumaki, this is simply protocol. If you don't resist we can promise that this will be all made easier." The ANBU captain said in that monotone that they were best known for... which strangely enough didn't make Naruto any better. Naruto saw things like this, older people would get these metal things on they're wrists, then being taken somewhere, and he wouldn't see them for weeks! Naruto wasn't about to get that done to him, not by a long shot! Naruto bent his knees down, causing the ANBU to bend over slightly, and then jumped up, slamming his head into the ANBU's chin.

A chunk of the ANBU's mask cracked as he stumbled backwards, Naruto immediately taking the opportunity to use his free hand to punch the other ANBU holding him in the throat, the elite ninja having been stunned by Naruto's earlier sudden strike and taking the blow directly to the throat. With a small choking sound the ANBU let go of Naruto and put his hands onto his neck, Naruto taking the opportunity to run like hell after having gotten out of their grasp.

As they watched Naruto run the two ANBU who weren't struck sighed as they looked at Naruto. "They always run." The ANBU captain said as the ANBU who were struck rubbed their chin and neck lightly, nodding to him that they were once again fine. "Alright then, let's go." He said as he motioned foward and they all began running. Meanwhile Naruto was running down the street at break-neck speed, desperately trying to get away from the ANBU. He looked back momentarily... and what he saw was semi-frightening.

He saw the ANBU behind him, swiftly gaining on him. With their cloaks covering all but their masks, it appeared as though that they were simply floating masks, chasing him down with a black haze behind them. Naruto ran as fast as he could, despite his, now one and a half years, at the Academy, plus all those other years of running for his life, he couldn't shake them. Naruto eventually decided that if he couldn't shake them by running, that maybe it would be best to just find a suitable hiding place.

Naruto made a quick turn into an alley, and the ANBU followed him. "Don't worry sir, I know this part of town, the kid's heading towards a dead-end!" One of the ANBU said as the leader simply looked back at him with, the others assumed, a stern glare. They ran into the alley, and began running down it, towards the turn that would lead to the dead-end. However, as they passed a certain point in the wall, it fell off, revealing Naruto, who was standing behind a piece of illusion cloth.

"Man Neji was right, this would come in handy." He said as he looked at the illusion cloth that Neji 'hinted' would be delivered to one of the shops across town. Naruto began walking down the alley, till he noticed something disturbing. There were masks, similar to the ones those ANBU were wearing, hanging off the wall... or he thought that they were hanging.

"Very tricky Street Fox..." A voice coming from one of the masks said as suddenly the black cloaked ANBU began peeling off from the wall. Naruto began freaking out as he looked behind him, to see the ANBU he thought he tricked, disappear in a plume of smoke. Naruto looked back to see them all standing there. "This time, net him." The apparent leader said as one of the ANBU produced a nin-wire net, and threw it towards Naruto. Naruto, though, quickly formed the Ram seal, and began focusing his chakra.

"Transform!" Naruto said in a tone that was filled with a slight amount of panic. Suddenly the area around him blew up in a cloud of smoke, and a small sparrow flew out from it, in between the holes in the net, and then blew up in a plume of smoke again. This time, Naruto came out of the smoke, and grabbed onto a window ledge. Then, using some fancy acrobatics, he slung himself to another window's ledge, and continued to do this until he was on the edge of the rooftop. He pulled himself up, and then began running across the roof tops.

Meanwhile the ANBU simply stood there and looked up towards the falling net, and the roof that Naruto had gotten to. Suddenly one of the ANBU growled as he picked up the nin-wire net. "A Transformation Jutsu... he's a little young to have gotten to that point in the Academy..." The ANBU mttered as one of the other ANBU sighed.

"Haven't you heard, apparently there's fan club of his that's made up mostly of this year's third year Academy students." The ANBU said as all the rest of the ANBU looked at him. "It wouldn't be entirely impossible for them to have taught the Street Fox a jutsu they had learned..." The ANBU said as the ANBU with the nin-wire net stared at him.

"But why? What would be the point?" He said as the apparent leader stepped foward.

"What do you expect? They're kids, in a club. If there was someone you looked up... or in this case down to, wouldn't you do anything within your power to make sure he stays ahead?" The leader said as the other ANBU shut up after that. "Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if he did give them something in return... but what I'm not sure of." He said as he cracked his neck. "Alright, this time no mistakes, let's go!" The leader shouted as all of the ANBU began jumping towards the roof top Naruto left on, and restarted their pursuit.

Naruto was running from roof top to roof top. Thanks to the training he received it was now possible, albeit a bit difficult, to jump from roof top to roof top. Naruto looked behind him, and he could make out the slight outlines of the ANBU behind him. Naruto's eyes widened as he began looking around for a man hole. "No chances this time, got to go for broke." Naruto said out loud as he spotted a man hole and jumped down into the alley.

"FREEZE!" He heard as he looked up to see that the ANBU had already caught up with him.

"Jeez! What the hell are you all!" Naruto shouted as he picked up the lid of the man hole, and chucked it at the ANBU, who simply caught it and threw it aside. Naruto grimaced as he jumped down into the sewers. The ANBU stared as a sweat dropped appeared on two of the member's heads.

"We have to go down.. into a sewer?" They asked, seemingly no one except themselves, as the leader and the other ANBU member shook his head and sighed.

"No, we're not." The ANBU captain stated simply as he looked at the other members of the ANBU squad. "The kid's trick might work if we were fewer in numbers... but between all of us I'm pretty sure we could scout every every manhole in this city for his escape point. Men, spread out." The ANBU captain stated firmly, the rest of the squad nodding as they quickly disbanded, each of them leaping in different directions, each hoping to locate the Street Fox in some way.

Meanwhile, Naruto was in the middle of his hideout, quickly gathering up as many of the essential items of his as he could in the shortest amount of time possible, not wanting to stay in one place for long while the ANBU were out and about looking for him.

"I gotta get out of this place, before they get end up finding it!" Naruto shouted, remembering how he thought he had gotten away from Itachi, only to find that the guy was able to find him again... okay so he was roasting some meat which let the guy follow his nose straight to him, but hey, better to be safe then beaten. Then something happened around Naruto that made him jump. Out of the blue several roots began ripping out of the ground, twisting and turning, and making their way over to Naruto. As soon as he took a step back, Naruto's foot was quickly caught by a root. Then the roots began chaining Naruto up, forcing his arms behind his back, and locking them together, forcing his feet together.

Naruto fell to the ground, unable to move thanks to the roots that now, basically, imprisoned him. "Hmmmm... Hokage-sama said to bring you in unharmed. Given how stubbornly you've been refusing to cooperate, this will have to do..." Naruto heard a voice say at the opening of his hideout. Naruto squirmed around to see one of the masked ANBU standing there, with his hands staying in one seal. They then dropped to his side as he walked over, and picked up Naruto. "Hmm... you're pretty light... then again I'd suppose it'd be hard for you to be quite as acrobatic as you are if you were as heavy as the Akimichi." He asked as Naruto growled at him. Naruto then began writhing around, and even managed to bump the ANBU's head a couple times.

The ANBU, for his part, showed considerably constraint when dealing with Naruto, not a word muttered as he began to stride out towards the Council's meeting place, sending out a few clones in order to inform them of his success.

Konoha Council Meeting Room

The council members of Konoha were sitting around waiting for the ANBU group to show back up. Many of the council members were patient as they waited. Then suddenly the doors busted open, and everyone looked towards the door with expectation... only to find Ibiki Morino, and some purple haired girl, coming into the room. Most of the council members simply sighed, though Tsume groaned out loud as Ibiki raised an eyebrow at the response to his arrival.

"Wow, what a warm welcome..." Ibiki said as he shrugged his shoulders, walking over to position himself beside Sarutobi, whom was busying himself by smoking his pipe. The persons in the room would not be left waiting for long, as minutes after Ibiki's own arrival the doors to the room slowly opened...

The second 'meeting' on his life begins tonight...

R&R.


	10. Chapter 10

Naruto: Alone...

Well hello folks, Arganaut here with the newest installment of Naruto: Alone. Well everyone, last chapter Naruto's life once again went into the hands of the council of Konoha. His life hangs in the balance... by simple thread. How will Naruto get out of this sticky situation? Will Naruto get out of this sticky situation? And if he does, what will be the side-effects? Well all these questions will be answered in this chapter, but first we must get to the pressing issue of most of the reviews that were sent to me for the last chapter:

**VFSnake-** Well you see, Naruto hasn't exactly learned the lesson of 'just tell the truth and you won't get hurt'. No, he learned the 'just lie your ass off, deny everything!' lesson, so he may not be telling the entire truth. And... NO! That idea has been taken already used, and I will not go with clichés!

pyro-chan the dragon king- ... I'm sorry, crazy says what now?

MissNaye- Well his skills with stealth, weapons, survival and traps are okay, but when it comes to Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, chakra control, and all general knowledge of the ninja world... yeah not that great. So he wouldn't become ANBU for a while...

vnvanman- Now then, that might not be true. You see, Itachi is a highly respected member of the Konoha ninja community. Though he is suspected of murder, come on, why would anyone suspect him of killing his entire clan (or even think he would be able to for that matter?)?

**Zoneshifter D-** Well yeah, wouldn't you use Yamato's Ghoul Eyes? And yes, I am aware that Yamato's name is not actually Yamato, but I figured that on ANBU missions like this (or any other occasion where he is needed to have some cover) that Yamato would be used. Also, I always figured that Kiba's dad was either dead or a civilian (since we didn't see him during the invasion of Konoha). In either case, Kiba would spend more time with his mom during training, and would therefore pick up on her traits to become his own.

AustIn- He was just nearly driven insane by a serial killer who killed his entire clan, chased down by the best ninja Konoha has, just went through being freaked out by Yamato's Ghoul Eyes, and now he's going to be interrogated by a bunch of people he doesn't even know... if I were him I'd be terrified.

**Dragon Man 180-** Well when you think about it Naruto did have an advantage over the ANBU. You see, the ANBU are always off on missions to other countries, so therefore they don't have the luxury of memorizing their own town for their uses. However Naruto spends nearly every single day running around the place. Placing traps, learning the terrain, etc. So of course it would be impressive... however, think about what would have happened should Naruto not been in his own 'backyard'.

FictionReader98- Though he may be old enough to listen and defend himself... he's still a child, he doesn't know all the tricks to keeping calm during an event like this. Well you see, he's still using logic. You see, its logical to kill a threat before it becomes a major problem, however it is also logical to know that Naruto in his current state could not kill the entire Uchiha clan, even if the demon chakra did flare up, it wasn't long enough. Now then, yes his fan club is a big help... but how helpful will they be after this? Also, Yamato was just there when it happened, no special reason really.

And don't forget, Ibiki is a professional, he won't change his decision purely based upon his opinion on someone.

i unno- No! I will not sink to using clichés! I have said that so many times before, now it's just giving me a headache!

Well, now that's out of the way, let's get on with the next chapter of Naruto: Alone!

Chapter 10: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back Part 2

The Konoha Council Meeting Room

The door began to slowly open as the group of ANBU walked in, Naruto in tow with his hands tied together behind his back, Sarutobi blinking slightly as he looked at them.

"Was this truly necessary?" The aged Kage inquired, the ANBU all nodding at once as they pushed the boy further into the room.

"He proved himself to be quite troublesome when he had his hands free to perform jutsu and other tricks of his. Binding his hands would ensure that he couldn't do too many things to try to get away again... originally we had tied him up completely, but once we arrived it seemed safe enough to allow him to walk in." The ANBU stated, Sarutobi just barely keeping himself from chuckling underneath his breath as he waved off the ANBU.

"Very well, dismissed." Sarutobi said as the group of elite ninja nodded and disappeared in an instant. Meanwhile Naruto was even more freaked out then he had been about an hour ago when that freak Itachi tried to do... whatever he was going to do to him! There were all these people here, some staring while the others sent glares at him. He was being restrained by whatever the ANBU guy put on him, and the only person he knew in the entire room, the old man, didn't look like he was doing much of anything for him.

'Life really sucks right now...' Naruto thought as after a minute Naruto turned to look at Sarutobi, who had a serious look on his face at the moment.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but it has to be done like this... for a little while anyway." Sarutobi said as Naruto nodded, not really knowing what he was talking about, but got the jist of it. Sarutobi then walked forward to face all of the people, but Naruto wasn't paying too much attention to them. What he was now looking at now was the one man standing in the corner. The man had a scar across his face and his headband wrapped around his head like a bandanna, and he was intently staring down at the young boy.

Naruto was feeling anxious around all of these people. Then, Sarutobi said something that caught his ears and his attention immediately.

"This meeting will now come to order: Naruto Uzumaki is to be questioned for possible involvement or knowledge as to the events leading up to the massacre of the Uchiha clan." Sarutobi said as Naruto twisted his head straight towards them.

"Say what?" Naruto shouted as everyone looked at him.

"Indeed, you have been brought here under the suspicions of having been near the site of the massacre, if not directly involved in the murders." One of the council members said as Sarutobi winced. He really wouldn't have chosen that set of words, he'd at least try to lay it on a bit thinner. Sarutobi looked at Naruto, who at this point had a look of fear, confusion, and anger written all over his face. Sarutobi sighed as the council member continued. "So, first things first, Naruto Uzumaki: did you in anyway assist or lead the mass murder of the Uchiha clan?" The councilor asked as Naruto nearly exploded.

"Hell no!" Naruto shouted as Sarutobi sighed. Naruto's energetic attitude would not get him out of this one... that's for sure... he was going to have to be a bit more tactful. As the murmurs that had erupted amongst the council quieted down, Shibi Aburame stood.

"Hokage-sama, would you mind if I presented the case to Uzumaki..." Shibi said in a tone-less voice as Sarutobi nodded. "Naruto Uzumaki, about an hour and a half ago, and ANBU squad that had been placed around the Uchiha district after the mysterious murder of one of their members beforehand, the ANBU sensed a..." Shibi began saying as he carefully chose his next set of words. "Strange chakra erupted, for only a second, from the area. They investigated and found several bodies, and a Sasuke Uchiha unconscious on the floor of his house." Shibi said as Naruto just about went ballistic.

"I didn't do that, dammit!" Naruto shouted as the council kept on staring at him. "What, look at me, do I really look like I could possibly kill off an entire clan, I mean come on! I'm a thief, sure, but I ain't a psycho!" Naruto continued, Ibiki carefully watching the boy's body as his eyes narrowed.

'Well, as far as I can tell, he isn't lying.' He thought to himself as he looked him over. 'He's showing signs that COULD point to lying... but looking at the situation he's in now, they could be caused by simply being nerve-wrecked.' Ibiki thoughts were silenced as Shibi nodded.

"Then would you like to tell us your side of the story, Uzumaki?" Shibi asked as Naruto froze for a moment. He may be pretty young, but even he knew that if he told them the entire story that he would get nailed by these guys. Naruto swallowed a lump as he tried to steady his breath before beginning 'his side of the story'.

"Alright then... so you see, I was at my place... just cooking some food..." Naruto said, trying not to give away too much about what he did, how he did it, and where he did it. "When I decided to go visit a good friend of mine from the Academy, Sasuke Uchiha..." Naruto said as Ibiki raised his head, raising his voice to gain the attention of the chamber.

"That's a lie." The interrogator said as Naruto looked at him with widened eyes, and the members of the council began talking amongst themselves. Naruto stared at the man for a while longer before a thought entered his mind.

'What, can he read minds or something?' Naruto questioned in his mind as Tsume Inuzuka pointed at him.

"I'd suggest you don't fudge the truth there runt. Makes you look real bad if you're already starting to lie to us." Tsume said as Naruto swallowed a huge lump in his throat.

"Well... alright then... I really went to the Uchiha district to pick a fight with Sasuke Uchiha." Naruto said as murmurs erupted from the council members. Shibi was the only one amongst them who did not break out into murmurs, as always. Once they died down Shibi looked straight at Naruto.

"Tell us Uzumaki, why would you want to start a fight with the Sasuke Uchiha?" He asked as Naruto scoffed.

"Because he always beats me in straight on Academy fights, and he was so arrogant about it. I thought if I could get at him without him knowing I was around, then I could beat him them." Naruto said as everyone quickly looked at Ibiki, who simply nodded when Naruto was finished. Sarutobi felt a headache coming on; so far the 'trial' as the council called it wasn't going so well for Naruto. So far he had just told the council that he was prepared to fight Sasuke... and the fact that he lied about it at first would be all the more reason for them to doubt his innocence... not like most of them thought he was innocence in the first place.

Shibi nodded as he wrote most of this down, and looked back towards Naruto. "Alright continue Uzumaki." Shibi said as Naruto nodded.

"Alright... so I snuck over to the compound, and I was looking around for Sasuke... when I noticed something weird..." Naruto said as everyone's eyes became glued upon him. "It was mostly empty, save for a few kunai and shuriken... I walked around... and I found corpses." Naruto said as many council members began whispering. "I walked around... and before I knew it I saw someone run out of some house in the compound, so I followed him... thinking he had something to do with it." Naruto said as everyone looked at Ibiki, who had not spoken up during after his first interruption.

"I followed him to an alley... and when he turned around... I saw that it was that one ANBU who chased me a couple years ago, Itachi Uchiha. And he said he massacred his clan..." Naruto said... as all hell broke loose.

"WHAT!" One of the council members shouted as suddenly the entire room broke out in shouts and curses. The eyes of many of the occupants in the room greatly widened at the accusation. "This is preposterous! Itachi Uchiha is... or perhaps was one of the best ninja Konoha has ever produced! For him to commit such an atrocity... I can hardly even begin to swallow the notion!" The council member shouted as others shouted the same message. Naruto jumped back a bit at the noise of the shouting.

"Hey, interrogator, how about doing your job and telling us whether or not this is bullshit?" Tsume raised her tone towards the interrogater, whom merely looked over at Naruto with a stone cold look in his eyes as he analyzed Naruto.

"As far as I could tell..." Ibiki said as many people leaned in towards him, waiting for him to speak. "He was not lying... he showed absolutely none of the physical signs associated with the act... his testimony of Itachi's involvement in the act is, according to him, truthful." Ibiki said as the council exploded once again.

"Ibiki must not be able to tell the difference between this child lying or not, there's no way such a statement could be true." This statement, and many mirroring it, echoed throughout the chamber. Though as soon as these were said, Ibiki sent a glare and killer intent at them that even caused Naruto to shiver a bit.

"Are you questioning my skill?" He said in a low tone as many of the council members remained silent. "I am a professional... you all brought me here because you knew I do my job and do it damn well. Now you'll either take my opinion as it is, or stay silent. But I will not have my craft questioned in such an insulting manner..." He said as the council room quickly quieted again, the members of the council immediately cooling their heads as the meeting continued.

"Well fine then... but do you honestly expect us to believe that Itachi-san could have possibly massacred his entire clan?" Tsume asked, having been calmed down by Ibiki's killer intent.

"Just a few minutes ago many of you were all ready to believe that this child was capable of such an act. Now its questionable whether or not, as you all just described Itachi, one of the best ninja we've produced could possibly go through with the act?" Sarutobi rather quickly fired back, the faces of some in the council chambers immediately becoming sheepish in the fact of this sudden realization. Before the meeting could continue, the proceedings were once again disrupted by the sudden entrance of an ANBU into the chambers.

"Hokage-sama, Hokage-sama!" The ANBU shouted as he ran in and Sarutobi looking over at the approaching ninja.

"What's the matter?" Sarutobi asked, the old man as inquired as the ANBU whispered something into his ear, and Sarutobi's eyes went wide with shock. "WHAT! What are you waiting for then, get him in here!" Sarutobi shouted as the elite ninja nodded and ran off. The entire room was silent before Tsume raised her hand. "Yes Tsume, what is it?" Sarutobi asked in a slightly excited tone.

"Well... Hokage-sama... what the hell was that?" Tsume asked suddenly as Sarutobi sighed before walking into the middle of the room.

"It seems that Sasuke Uchiha has woken up from his unconscious state." Sarutobi said as many of the council members gasped. "With his testimony we'll hopefully be able to put this all to rest" Sarutobi said as Naruto's eyes widened. Would he finally be able to get the hell out of this mad house and back to his... place he lives at. I mean, yeah this was great. Naruto slipped out a small smile, being careful for none of the council to see it.

"What's with the grin brat?" Unfortunately Tsume caught the grin just before he could conceal it. Despite this, or perhaps inspired by it, Naruto looked at her, this time allowing the cocky smirk to slip out as he looked at her.

"I'm just excited that he's about to get me the hell out of here!" Naruto said in a cocky tone as Tsume simply raised an eyebrow at him as once again the doors burst open, several ninja bringing Sasuke Uchiha in with a wheelchair. Naruto, though he was happy to see the Uchiha that would set him free, he was... surprised to see his rival in such a dismal state

'What the hell happened to him?' Naruto thought to himself, the question quickly forgotten due to the matters at hand. Naruto kept his cocky visage up as Sasuke was wheeled right beside Sarutobi. Sarutobi knelt down to Sasuke's level, with a stern look on his face, and looked at Sasuke. He was absolutely pale, his face without a trace of emotion.

"Sasuke Uchiha... can you tell us who it was that killed your clan?" Sarutobi asked as Sasuke glanced in his direction before looking forward. Though it was soft, and not too loud, everyone in the room could hear the echo of the words he spoke... words that crushed the intentions of many council members in the room who had wished to see Naruto sent away.

"Itachi..." Sasuke droned as he looked up at the council members. "Itachi... killed them... killed them all..." Sasuke said as Sarutobi nodded and stood up.

"Thank you Uchiha-san. Please, take him back to the hospital." Sarutobi ordered the ninja as, after a quick bow, they began wheeling Sasuke out of the room. After Sasuke left, Sarutobi looked at Naruto, smiled at him, and turned his attention back to the council. "With that testimony from the only true witness, I hereby acquit Naruto Uzumaki of the crime of slaying the entire Uchiha clan... and announce that from this day on, Itachi Uchiha will be an S-Rank criminal, and all the precautions, penalties and actions to be taken with it." Sarutobi said as the entire council nodded.

"Meeting adjourned!" Sarutobi shouted as the council members began exiting. Sarutobi sent Naruto one more smile before undoing the ties that bound Naruto's hands together. As he was released Naruto gave Sarutobi one more quick grin before speeding out of the room... completely unaware that, despite his innocence, a key series of events had taken place to begin the spread of a new rumor around town.

The Next Morning

The next morning, Naruto woke up in his tent and stretched himself out. He did a bit of scratching here and there, before quickly getting out of his tent. Today was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky. Naruto liked these kinds of days, they were way better than the rain that seemed to accompany him whenever bad things happened to him. Naruto cracked his neck as he went over to his clothes pile, and picked out his completely back outfit. Since it was so warm thanks to the sun, he didn't bother with the jacket... however, he did put on a backpack, with all his extra stuff in it... just in case. He yawned quickly before walking out of the alley.

Normally, Naruto would sneak around town so he could get to the Academy more quickly, so he could talk to the people in his fan club for a while, but on days like this, a little walk was just what he needed. However, as he walked through the streets... he noticed something odd.

He noticed was that the normal people were keeping a very, very sharp eye on him... normally they had a bunch of stuff that they had to do... but they were now intently watching him as he walked. It made Naruto a tad nervous; sure, there would be those in the village that would cast glances of him as he passed, and then those who'd even follow him closely to make sure he didn't do anything wrong... but this was the first time in a long time that they had so intently watched him just moving around town.

With a small shudder and a quick jump into his step, Naruto began to hurry to the Academy, hoping to find some escape from the rather... unusual attitude of the populace.

The Academy

Children were outside the Academy, talking, laughing, and playing. No one knew that just outside of the Academy Naruto was hastily walking towards the entrance of the building, hoping to get away from the eyes of the people so that he could finally relax. A small smile graced his features as he walked into the Academy yard.

"Hey there everyone." Naruto suddenly called out, knowing more than a few of the people in his club would be out and about. It was when he heard all of the sounds that had been going through the Academy yard a few minutes ago go silent that he looked up to see that everyone was simply staring at him.

They were staring at him with a sudden nervousness in their eyes that he hadn't seen for in their eyes before. They were walking away from him, slowly as he moved forward. He wasn't expecting this at all. Naruto looked around, and then suddenly he saw that four people ran for him. Naruto looked at them, and saw that they were Neji, Tenten, Lee, and Hinata. Naruto sighed as he looked at each of them. "So, anyone of you guys now what's going on here, or am I just going to be left in the dark?" Naruto said as each of them looked at him with a worried look.

"Naruto-san... Street Fox... did you really participate in the Uchiha Massacre?" Tenten said as Naruto's eyes widened.

"Wh-what!" Naruto shouted as he looked at each of them. "Where would you hear that?" Naruto asked as Neji pointed towards the village.

"It's been going around the village, that the Uchiha clan had been slaughtered." Neji said as he looked at Naruto. "A lot of people around the village say that they saw you being chased by ANBU late in the evening, and that you were later seen being dragged off to the Hokage's tower... some people came to their own conclusions on the matter." Neji said as suddenly what happened this morning clicked in Naruto's mind.

'The people... fuck, I might've gotten cleared by all those old people in the room, but if everyone outside just saw me being chased down by the ANBU...' Naruto thought to himself as he hurriedly shook his head.

"I swear to you all, by my name as the Street Fox, I had no part in that! All these old ninja people said I was innocent, you have to believe me!" Naruto said as they all sighed.

"We all just needed to hear that... Neji said that the elders of the Hyuga clan were saying as much when the clan head returned... don't worry, we trust you." Tenten said with a small smile, Naruto taking heart in it as the others spoke up.

"Thank goodness Street Fox, I was so worried, but now that you have said that you have not I am relieved!" Lee shouted as they all nodded.

"Ye-yes Na-Naruto-san, we believe y-you." Hinata said as Naruto smirked as he looked at all of the other kids.

"So I suppose... that all the others really don't think that they could be wrong..." Naruto said swowly as Neji nodded.

"Yes... and I've checked around... you want to know what's left of your club?" Neji said as Naruto nodded, and Neji spread his arms out. "You're looking at them." Neji said as Naruto's eyes widened and looked around at them. He sighed as he looked at each of them with a small smile.

"Well... at least you guys are the most loyal to me..." Naruto said as they all smiled before the bell rang. "Well see you guys later." Naruto said as he began walking into the building... the other children filtering in front of him...

Indeed... it was one step forward for Naruto Uzumaki... but was two steps back...

R&R


	11. Chapter 11

Naruto: Alone...

Hey there folks, Arganaut here with the latest installment of Naruto: Alone. Anyway, last chapter… all I have to say is this, that you all are pretty easily excitable. I know that what happened to Naruto was depressing and all… but people, IT'S A STORY. I mean, I'm happy that you're all into my story, it makes me feel good as an author, but some of you started spouting curses about humanity!

I mean, and this is coming from me, that's sounds like someone who needs to go to the looney bin for a couple days. Seriously people, I love that you guys are so into my story… but chillax a little bit! Anyway, got a lot of reviews last chapter… and like I said a lot of them were just curses to Konoha, and humanity in general. Anyway… time to sort through all the crazy:

Ninja Wolf 25- Alright then, name one time you've ever heard that happening in real life, name one time.

MissNaye- Hey, they're simply acting out of fear of him. And, you're right, at least he still has those four.

**Dragon Man 180-** He's going to be a bit clever when it comes to getting away from the mobs… but now he has the Sasuke **UCHIHA** Fan Club to worry about… poor soul.

Pryo-chan the dragon king- Call it a hunch.

AustIn- Well then, if the Third can't change the opinion of the people, then why bother?

Wolvknight- ….. Yeah… (backing away slowly from the crazy fan).

Vnvanman- …. Ummm… security, we have a crazy person here… he needs his medicine as soon as possible.

The Great Rick- Well he's not God, he can't see everything that goes on.

**VFSNAKE- **That logic would be true in the real world, but unfortunately this is not the real world, this is a world filled with ninja, and besides if there were no witnesses to a 'crime' Sarutobi can't do much about it.

MischievousPuck- Just wait and see.

**Zoneshifter D-** Thank you… thank you for being a voice of reason among all of this madness!

Canis Black- I've sent you an e-mail with details on how I feel, read it.

Gryphon Turboclaw- Well now, here's someone who gets what I write, very good fella, I'll be keeping an eye on you.

FictionReader98- Yes indeed, I think Naruto will indeed learn a few valuable lessons from that trial… and I hope he learns more in this chapter. That's why I put that in there, I knew that there would be a sense of irony, so I went for it, good job noticing it. Ouch indeed, at least he still has some help. And about the clan… you'll find out later.

Alright then, now that the reviews are out of the way… I'm almost afraid to start this chapter. I'm afraid that you all will once again erupt and begin spewing molten crazy all over me! Oh well, the story must go on. So here's the next chapter of Naruto: Alone!!!

Chapter 11: Substitution Jutsu and The First Try

Konoha - Three Years Later

We fade in to see Konoha, three years later after the Uchiha clan incident. No one has forgotten the dreary near-extinction of the Uchiha clan… and the rumor that Naruto Uzumaki was a part of the massacre, though still as strong as it was three years ago, had not stayed the gossip on everyone's lips. It was still a deep part of people's opinion on the Street Fox of Konoha… but it was not as frequently talked about.

Speaking of our favorite blond ninja… well things have, depending on how you look at it, neither improved nor worsened. For example, Naruto now has to keep a constant transformation on him when he walks the Street. Now then, some would say that his life had taken a turn for the worse because of this. However, since he used a transformation quite often in the first place, some could say that it didn't really change at all.

However, even with the transformation jutsu on, there was still a strong chance of Naruto getting caught. Ninja who were walking the street would commonly check any random person in the street who looked rather inconsistent (or if Naruto's transformation was rather poor at the moment). In that sense Naruto's life has definitely taken a turn for the worse, no way you could look at it as a positive.

But, it was a very rare occurrence for Naruto's transformation to be caught nowadays. After spending so much time around the streets of Konoha, he has learnt two things. Those two things were that people with tan skin in Konoha were a rare occurrence (let's face it, there was a ton of pale people in Konoha), and that walking with his back straight when he's an old man is suspicious. So… he avoided such mistakes.

Now then, this is not to say that all of problems came from just the citizens of Konoha thanks to the rumor spread three years ago. You see, six months after the rumor, Sasuke Uchiha began acting arrogant, sarcastic, and silent… which drove many of the females in his class wild. As such, they formed a group called the 'Sasuke Uchiha Fan Club'. Now, this club had two goals. The first was to get Sasuke to date one of the members, of course.

The second reason? Well… to hunt down and destroy the people who were involved with the Uchiha massacre… which of course created problems around the Academy for Naruto. But, fortunately for him, the girl's in the club were so ill-trained that they could not catch him, and even when they would, their punches aren't too bad… at all (in fact, to Naruto, the worse they've done to him was knock his food out of his hand during lunch at the Academy).

Now then, speaking of the Academy… Naruto was doing… well okay. His strive to become a ninja, and lead a better life, was still very strong, so he worked as hard as he could. Though he still couldn't beat Sasuke in a Taijutsu fight, he was able to outrun him during the laps around the Academy field. He wasn't too smart, but he definitely wasn't the worst either. Yet… he still could not do the Replacement Jutsu, or the Clone Jutsu.

Now then, time to get to the present. We currently see an elderly man, with white hair, and practically no teeth, going down the street, using a cane to help him walk. As he walked many citizens of Konoha greeted the old man with kindness. The old man, in return, did the same… though whenever a kid would run in front of him, he would shout at them about running too fast and then complain about how they dressed, calling them 'whipper-snappers'.

He was walking towards the Academy, many assumed that he was going to complain about an Academy student skinning his cat, or something. Though, when he was in front of the fence, he fell asleep. The people passed by, simply thinking that the old geezer was a narc. However, when there was no one in the streets, the old man's eyes shot open as he stood up straight. The old man looked around in each direction, before forming the ram seal.

"Release." The old man said in a very old, very tired voice, as suddenly a plume of smoke enveloped him, and the entire area around him. Then, suddenly, as the plume of smoke disappeared, we find that the old man that was standing there had been replaced with our favorite young, blonde aspiring to-be-ninja. Naruto smirked as he took his hands out of the ram seal, and cracked his neck. "Too easy." Naruto muttered as he rolled his shoulder.

Yes, Naruto Uzumaki has slowly but surely gotten to exactly where he needed to be. However, to think that the boy had only grown in skill would be mistaken. Naruto was now a few inches taller, and was actually one of the taller people in the class (thanks to the lack of ramen, and input of actual meat, and plants, he's not longer the poor midget). He has no visible muscles, but to think him weak would be a slight mistake.

While he's not super-strong, he isn't amazingly weak either. The clothes he currently wore were the same ones as a few years back. They were worn out, but not in terrible condition. His shirts and pants were slightly tight, but his jackets were still fitting him well, only his shoes were new. Now then, he was currently wearing his black get up, jacket and all. Naruto sighed and walked into the Academy yard…

"NARUTO UZUMAKI!" He heard as soon as he entered. Naruto froze in place and sweat started coming out of his pores.

'Uh oh.' Naruto thought as he looked up. Yes it was the Sasuke Uchiha Fan Club…Naruto Uzumaki's worst pain in the ass. Now, there were only two members that Naruto was overly concerned about, and they were the most prominent ones. They were Ino Yamanaka, and Sakura Haruno. These two were the ones who were by far the biggest thorns in Naruto's side. Sakura was currently wearing a red dress, with little white designs on it, with black shorts under it.

She also wore her signature red ribbon on her head. Ino Yamanaka, however, was wearing a purple top and skirt… nothing else other than sandals. Now, Naruto had actually been caught by her father… and he actually talked with the guy he seemed like a calm, yet stern guy… how in God's name she talks him into letting her wear that was beyond Naruto. Anyway, they were both glaring him down, ready to kill the poor kid… until three people jumped in front of Naruto.

"BACK OFF!" The female of the three shouted as the Sasuke Uchiha Fan Club froze in place, and then backed off, heading towards a different section of the Academy yard. Naruto smirked as the three turned around… and revealed three of the four remaining members of the 'Street Fox Fan Club'. Ever since the formation of the Sasuke Uchiha Fan Club, the two clubs have been at 'war' with each other.

Now then, the SUFC used the fact that Sasuke beats Naruto in every single fight at the Academy to prove Sasuke's superiority. However, the SFFC defended with the fact that if Naruto ever caught Sasuke in the forest while he had three kunai and a shuriken, he'd be toast. And any time that the member's of Sasuke's club would attack Naruto… the members of Naruto's club would deflect them.

These members were Neji, Tenten, and Lee… and Hinata did for a while… before Naruto just couldn't find her anymore. Anyway, the reason Sasuke's club was so terrified of the three visible members of Naruto's club is… well because they were a year older, and one was a Hyuga. Anyway, the three years had… moderately changed the three. Neji began wearing attire more appropriate for a member of the Branch house. Lee had cut off his ponytail, and now adopted a shorter hairstyle, the hair spiking out in the back a bit. He also wore a gi-like outfit, short-sleeved.

Tenten, well she put buns in her hair now, and wore… well a foreign selection of clothes as far as Naruto' could tell. Anyway, the blonde's smirk quickly turned into a serious look as he looked over the three. "Good job men… and woman. You have deflected another attack from the Sasuke Uchiha Fan Club, and I am very proud!" Naruto said as the three quickly saluted him.

"Street Fox, thank you Street Fox!" They said, Lee and Tenten trying to stifle laughs as Neji, being the silent guy he was, just smirked.

Naruto smiled as they all calmed down. Naruto then looked at Neji and raised an eyebrow. "So, where'd Hinata go, she has not deflected an attack for sometime now… has she switched sides?" Naruto asked as Neji just shrugged.

"I'm not sure, it's like whenever she gets here she disappears faster than a picture of Sasuke Uchiha in the Academy…" Neji said as they all chuckled… well what Neji said wasn't entirely true. He had actually used his eyes for this… strange occurrence. Why? Well, for a time, he honestly didn't know where Hinata went. So one day he decided to use the Byakugan… and found Hinata just following Naruto.

He knew this was a very unhealthy habit… but it was fun to watch her squirm sometimes. Now, he knew that was even unhealthier, but imagine seeing your cousin jump every single time Naruto would look in her direction. Unhealthy, like he said, yes. Funny… yes. So Neji just remained quiet as Naruto tapped his chin. "Weird… oh well, she'll show up eventually." Naruto said as the rest just shrugged with him.

The bell rang for the beginning of the classes for today. Naruto and the visible members of the SFFC nodded at each other and walked off into the Academy, where classes would begin for today… and where Naruto could finally practice, learn, and train without the threat of being attacked. At any rate, once inside his own classroom, Naruto quickly took his seat. Naruto's seat was moved to a more remote location… since nowadays almost any student he sat next to he'd cause trouble with.

Anyway, Iruka and Mizuki walked into the room, shortly after Naruto got in. Naruto was never really late, because, in all honesty, he did not have much he had to do. Naruto sat down in his chair and began waiting for the lesson to begin. He didn't even notice that Iruka was sending glances towards his direction. Now, Iruka had been as fair as a teacher as he could be, often times keeping Mizuki from doing something stupid.

Still, that doesn't mean Iruka liked the fox-boy, oh no, but he had a duty, and that duty was to teach each child that came into the Academy… even if it was one that killed his parents. Iruka sighed as he thought of his plan for today. It was closing in on the Genin Exams. Now then, this years students did not have to take the test… however if they felt like it, they could take it early, and graduate early.

Now then, Iruka could only feel overjoyed with the idea of being able to get Naruto out of the Academy, and out of his hair earlier than he had to. And also, he knew, for a fact, that it was going to be the Substitution Jutsu that they were going to be tested on. Now, Iruka had to really think of what he was going to do. He could either go against his views and give a special lesson to Naruto, or he could put up with him for two more years.

In the end, Iruka decided that it would be better for not only him, but the children around Naruto, for the blonde troublemaker to get out of the Academy. It would benefit the students, because they would no longer be distracted by Naruto, and it would be better for him… because he wouldn't be distracted by Naruto. The academy teacher decided that he would wait until the end of the day for him to talk to Naruto. Iruka sighed as he continued to take the role of instructor for the day.

The End Of The Day

The bell rang for the end of the school day. Many of the Academy Students began packing up so they could leave. Just as Naruto was about to leave, Iruka grabbed the Street Fox by the shoulder and kept him from getting out of there like everyone else was. "Uzumaki, please stay here, I believe we need to speak." Iruka said as Naruto gulped.

'What did I do!?" Naruto thought as he sat down at Iruka's desk. Naruto sat there, twitching for several minutes as he kept on thinking about what was going to happen to him. 'Is he going to get me for stealing from the shoe store?' Naruto thought as he began chewing his fingernails. 'I mean, who could have told him… I BET IT WAS NEJI!' Naruto thought as he gritted his teeth together. 'I always thought that bastard looked suspicious…' Naruto thought until he began thinking more.

'Or… maybe it was Tenten… THAT SLUT!' Naruto thought as he continued thinking for a few minutes. 'Maybe it was Hinata… I KNEW SHE BETRAYED ME FOR THAT UCHIHA PUNK!' Naruto thought as he shifted uneasily in his seat as he continued thinking. 'Or maybe it was Lee….' Naruto thought as he stifled a chuckle. 'Yeah right…' Naruto thought as Iruka sat down in front of him and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Listen Uzumaki, the reason you're here is…." Iruka said as Naruto leapt up on the desk.

"Whatever they told you was a lie! I didn't steal them; I got them from a friend's foot! Wait, I mean I found them in someone's closet! Crap, I mean that I was digging through someone's trash!" Naruto shouted as Iruka just stared at him, and blinked a few times before shaking his head.

"What are you talking about?" He asked as Naruto sweat dropped before jumping back into the chair.

"Ummmm… nothing, nothing." The boy said as he began sweating lightly. Iruka sighed as he shook his head. He wasn't here to bust Naruto for anything… well he could, but right now that's not what was important. What was important was that he gets Naruto ready for the Genin Exams. Iruka opened up a file to find the date for the Exam's to be… tomorrow. The Chunin sighed as he closed his folder and rubbed his temples… tonight was going to be a long one.

Iruka once again looked at the sweating Academy Student before sighing again. "Uzumaki, you can stop sweating, I'm not going to bust you for anything." Iruka said as Naruto immediately stopped sweating, and began looking at Iruka with a scrutinizing look. "You see, the reason I've kept you here… is to offer you something." Iruka said as Naruto raised an eyebrow at him, and admittedly, smirked. The last time someone offered him something was the old man offering him to come here to be a ninja… so this had to be good.

"Go on." Naruto said as Iruka continued to stare at the blond before going on.

"Tomorrow, there is a test known as the Genin Exams, I'm sure you've heard of them." Iruka said as Naruto nodded.

'Yeah, I've heard of them alright, according to what my fan club said…' Naruto thought, forgiving the members of his club, seeing as how they didn't snitch on him at all. 'That Exam is my one shot at getting out of here, and actually getting on with my life.' Naruto thought as he nodded again and Iruka continued.

"Now then, the class that is two years ahead of you are required to take the Exam… however." Iruka said as Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Should you want to, you can take the Exam early." Iruka said as Naruto's eyes went wide with shock. Iruka smirked slightly when he saw the boy's reaction, he had him. "But the Exam is on the Substitution Jutsu, one that I believe you cannot execute yet." Iruka said as Naruto lowered his head.

'Damn… should have known there was a catch…' Naruto thought as Iruka cleared his throat, drawing the boy's attention back to the Academy teacher.

"And that's where I come in." Iruka said as Naruto raised his eyebrows. "The reason I kept you behind Naruto, the real one, is so that I can offer to teach you the Jutsu today." Iruka said as Naruto's eyes widened. "Of course, since the Exam's tomorrow we'll most likely be working through out the night, so if you don't want the help…" Iruka said as he watched Naruto eyes narrow slightly as he began sweating again.

'All right then… gotta make a choice here...' Naruto thought as he absent mindedly bit his thumb nail. 'I can take an extra lesson from Iruka-sensei, and depending on whether or not he's telling the truth or not, pass the Genin Exam and get the hell out of here.' Naruto thought as he continued biting his finger nails. 'But if he's lying then I could be cruising towards a bruising later on…' Naruto thought as he finally looked up to Iruka, and crossed his arms.

"I accept your offer." Naruto said, point blank as Iruka smiled. "But… there's something I have to ask." Naruto said suddenly as Iruka looked at him. "What do you get out of this?" Naruto asked as Iruka raised an eyebrow. "What would getting me out of here so quickly do for you?" Naruto asked again as Iruka merely sighed before looking at the Street Fox.

"It would give me some peace and quiet in the upcoming years. It would make teaching your classmates far easier, wouldn't you agree?" He asked as Naruto could only nod. In all honesty, Naruto got what Iruka was saying. The kids were deeply distracted by him, so much so that sometimes their work suffered. Naruto knew if he were gone, then the root of the other's problem would be gone.

Naruto sighed as he looked at Iruka. "So where are we going to do this?" Naruto asked as Iruka smiled.

"I'm glad you asked." Iruka said as he stood. "Since using the grounds around here would be a bad idea, seeing as how if I'm caught training the Street Fox it would bite me in the ass later on..." Iruka said as Naruto stood as well. "But since there are not a lot of places in Konoha to hide a training Academy student, I suggest we go to where you live." Iruka said as Naruto froze on the spot.

"Okay, hold it!" Naruto shouted as he turned to face Iruka. "I am not about to lead you to my hideout!" Naruto said as Iruka sighed.

"Alright then, guess you can practice tonight on your own then…" Iruka said as Naruto froze before he sighed.

"Fine…" Naruto muttered as he and Iruka began walking out of the Academy. As they reached the Academy Yard, Naruto quickly looked around, and formed the Ram Seal. "Give me a second." Naruto said as he began focusing his chakra. "Transform!" Naruto shouted as he was enveloped in a cloud of smoke. As the smoke dissipated… Iruka's face began glowing a shade of red.

Standing in the smoke was a slender woman, with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing just some not-so-loose fitting dress robes. She smiled at Iruka as she tugged on his arm. "Come on Iruka-kun! We have to go!" She said as a slightly high-pitched voice as Iruka pulled his arm away.

"Uzumaki! What are you…" Iruka began shouting before the girl grabbed his arm again, and brought him close.

"Just shut up and follow my lead…" The girl said in Naruto's voice as Iruka just raised an eyebrow as they began walking. It wasn't long though, before Iruka finally caught on to what Naruto was doing. He was making them look less suspicious, and also trying to keep himself from being attacked by a mob. Iruka had to say, this was clever… very clever. However, as they neared the opening of an alley, Naruto quickly lead them both inside, and they walked down it for a while.

When the street was far behind them, Naruto let go of Iruka's arm and reformed the Ram Seal. "Release." He said in his girl voice as another plume of smoke enveloped him. Moments later a normal Naruto walked out of the cloud of smoke, Iruka following him closely. Iruka was still staring at the blond, and it didn't take Naruto long to notice. "What?" He asked as he took a turn in the alley system.

"Nothing it's just… that was clever of you…" Iruka said as Naruto nodded and jumped over a small wooden fence, and Iruka followed. They eventually reached a tarp that covered the entrance to another area of the alley system. Iruka raised an eyebrow at the symbol on the tarp, recognizing it as that of the famous gang that was around a while back… the name escaping him at the moment. As Naruto just walked through it, Iruka followed him… to find a sight he was not expecting to see.

He saw a mostly bare area, a fire pit in the middle of it. A stack of clothes were off to the side, most of them worn out… except for the shoes. There were loads of rotting meat in another corner, fish heads, bare bones, and organs amongst the pile. He also saw a worn out tent with a small futon under it. Naruto walked over to a stack of logs and tossed them in the pit as he then put some dry straw on top, and got out two pieces of stone.

"So, you hungry?" Naruto asked as Iruka was snapped out of his sight seeing mode. "As you can see… there's not too much around here to eat… I could get us some though." Naruto said as suddenly Iruka's stomach erupted in loud growls. He had skipped lunch in order to grade some tests today, so he was starving. "I'll take that as a 'please go get me some'…" Naruto said as he finally got a good fire started and began walking off. "I'll be back…" He said as he walked out another exit in the open area.

Iruka continued looking around the area, simply amazed at what he was seeing. The Chuunin teacher knew that he should have been aware that this was the type of life the Street Fox was living… but for some reason he always thought that he would be at an orphanage, or in some apartment… OR AT LEAST IN AN ABANDONED WAREHOUSE! But… this was all that the fox had… no, there was more to his life than this crap.

Beatings… mobs of citizens and ninja always on the lookout for you… having to steal or hunt for anything you can get your hands on to survive… and on top of that having to train to be a ninja. As Iruka kept on thinking these thoughts, he kept on trying to withdraw them; thinking that it couldn't be this bad, that it couldn't happen like this… but as he kept on thinking… one thought suddenly dawned on him…

Why would the Kyuubi no Youko, the most powerful demon in existence… live like this!? Iruka once again began thinking the same old hate laced thoughts. It was bidding its time, it was waiting for the most opportune moment, it was just waiting… but once again these thoughts couldn't stop him from arriving at the absolute worst realization he's had in the last few moments. That there was no way, in Heaven or Hell that the fox would accept a living like this… and still act like this happy-go-lucky loser with his own fan club…

Eventually, this train of thought led Iruka to one last and most devastating realization, one that only few members of the council had already gotten to a long time before him. That this boy, could not be the Demon Fox in any shape or form… and that lead the academy teacher to one more thought. For years now, a young student of his has been beaten and battered… and he had done nothing to stop it. This was by far the most serious hit to the man's conscience. His musings were only stopped when he began hearing something being dragged into the open area.

Iruka quickly looked up to the sky to find that it was actually later than he thought it was. And when he looked at where the sound had come from… he found Naruto dragging in a few rabbits in. "Found a rabbit hole, and what a score." Naruto said as he sat down on the opposite side of the fire pit from Iruka. Iruka merely stared as Naruto got out a kunai and began skinning the rabbits. Now, Iruka has had survival training similar to this… but he was still disgusted by what he was watching.

As Naruto began cooking the rabbits over the fire, he sighed as he looked straight as Iruka. "While these cook we may wanna start…" Naruto said as Iruka snapped out of his daze.

"Right…" Iruka said as he stood and walked away from the fire, not truly wanting to be around the cooking pieces of flesh. Iruka and Naruto stood at the other end of the area, facing each other while standing a few feet away from each other. Iruka crossed his arms while looking at Naruto. "Alright, first things first, tell me what you do whenever you attempt the Replacement Jutsu, and I'll see what you're doing wrong." Iruka said as Naruto began tapping his chin.

"Well…. I just do the seals… and try the jutsu… something wrong with that?" Naruto asked as Iruka sighed.

"Well… yes." Iruka said as Naruto sweat dropped. "You see the, Replacement Jutsu, as you should know, is a jutsu that requires you to have an object, animal, or person in the immediate area for you to replace yourself with." Iruka said as Naruto simply rolled his eyes at the lecture. Iruka simply ignored it and continued. "But you also have to have a picture of that object, animal, or thing clear in your mind." Iruka said as Naruto blinked a few times.

"You mean I have to think of the thing that I'm replacing myself with?" Naruto asked as Iruka vaulted into the ground.

"You shouldn't even have to ask about that, idiot!" Iruka shouted, his head becoming enlarged by several sizes. "It should be common knowledge, like not eating out of the garba…." Iruka began shouting until he remembered who he was talking to. His head shrank down to normal size before he sweat dropped. "Never mind, bad example…" Iruka said as Naruto sweat dropped as well. "At any rate, thinking about what you're going to replace yourself with isn't truly needed." Iruka said as Naruto was about to shout.

"However." Iruka said, stopping Naruto's rant before it could begin. "It is a very good thing for people who have trouble using the jutsu for the first time. When you get older, and better, you can replace yourself without having to think about it so hard." Iruka said as he took off his jacket. "You'll be trying to replace yourself with my Chunin flak jacket. Alright?" Iruka asked as Naruto nodded. "Alright begin!" Iruka shouted as Naruto nodded and started going through the seals.

'This shouldn't take too long…' Iruka thought as he watched Naruto attempt the jutsu.

Three Hours Later

"AGAIN!" Iruka shouted as a winded Naruto nodded and began going through the seals for the jutsu again. They had been going at it for a few hours now, the roasting… or currently burnt rabbits forgotten over the fire pit. Naruto had so far not gotten any further in getting the jutsu correct, and it was getting late. Iruka sighed as Naruto finished the seals.

"Replacement Jutsu!" Naruto shouted as he flashed once… and appeared in the exact same spot. Though, when Naruto looked down he smirked. "HA!" Naruto shouted as Iruka just looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Naruto simply looked down… and saw that Naruto's feet… and the flak jacket had only moved an inch from their original positions. "THAT'S PROGRESS!" Naruto shouted as Iruka face vaulted into the ground.

Iruka began rubbing the bridge of his nose while taking very deep breaths. He couldn't go off on Naruto right now… but he was just so tired. It's been getting late, he's still hungry, and Naruto only made two inches worth of progress. It became clear to Iruka that training like everyone else when it came to this jutsu wasn't going to be enough to get Naruto to do it in time. Iruka thought for a while… thought of a way to properly teach Naruto.

Naruto's speed, weapon skills, and stealth were amazing. But, they only got that way because the boy was forced to learn them or else… just another thing to add to his already strained conscience. But then Iruka snapped his fingers as a thought came to him. Naruto responded to 'REAL, LIVE EXPERIENCE'! If he could make it so that it was a do or die situation for Naruto, he'd have to learn the jutsu. Iruka knew this was risky, but it would be the only way for Naruto to learn the jutsu.

Iruka began reaching for his kunai pouch as he looked at Naruto over his shoulder. "Hey Uzumaki." Iruka said, stopping the boy's mild celebration.

"Yeah?" Naruto asked as Iruka smirked.

"THINK FAST!" Iruka shouted as he threw a kunai straight at Naruto. Naruto panicked, he couldn't deflect the incoming projectile with another kunai, and it was too close to dodge… so he did the only thing he could think of at the moment. He began flying through seals, and in the next instant… he disappeared. Naruto reappeared about a foot and a half away from where he was…. Iruka began bursting out laughing as Naruto gave him an indignant look.

"WHAT!? WHAT'S SO FUNNY ABOUT THROWING A KUNAI AT ME?!" Naruto shouted as Iruka shook his head.

"Well… the fact that you did the Replacement Jutsu only half right…" Iruka said as he chuckled more. Naruto was at first confused about what he meant before he looked down… to see that he was currently wearing the flak jacket. Suddenly the meaning of 'half-right' became so clear to Naruto, as he too began laughing aloud. A few minutes later, the laughter subsided, and Naruto took off the flak jacket and threw it to the side.

"Let's keep this up." Iruka said as he drew another kunai and Naruto simply cracked his neck.

An Hour later

It was an hour later, Naruto was sweating a bit as Iruka picked up a kunai from the ground. He gave the kunai a quick spin as Naruto simply smirked. Iruka threw the kunai at Naruto, and Naruto went through the seals. Naruto finished the last one, disappeared, and was replaced by Iruka's jacket. The kunai pierced the jacket, and Iruka smirked and a once again visible Naruto smiled a wide smile.

"ALRIGHT!" Naruto shouted as he began jumping around. "I DID IT! GENIN EXAMS HERE I COME!" Naruto shouted as he stopped, took a few breaths, and fell onto his rear. Iruka shook his head, grabbed Naruto, and helped him to his feet.

"Congratulations Naruto, you did good…" Iruka said as Naruto's eyes widened slightly as he smirked at Iruka.

"Hey, you called me Naruto." Naruto said as Iruka's own eyes went a little wide as he smirked back at the kid and rubbed his head.

"Yeah, I guess I did." Iruka said as his stomach growled. "Well… let's have those rabbits…" Iruka said as they both looked at the rabbits… only to find that they were completely burnt beyond recognition. Iruka and Naruto sweat dropped as they looked at each other. "Well… I'll eat tomorrow morning." Iruka said as he began walking out. "Good night Naruto." Iruka said as Naruto smirked.

"See ya later Iruka-sensei… and thanks for the help." Naruto said as Iruka merely waved it off as he left.

The Academy - Morning

Iruka was currently taking the role for today's class, remembering that currently Naruto was taking the Genin Exam. Anyone who took the Exam, who weren't forced to, were given the day off. Iruka sighed as he finished role and then left the class to Mizuki, who nearly cursed at Iruka for doing so. Iruka went to the Academy yard and began waiting for Naruto, and the other graduates, to show.

Suddenly, they all began to pour out of the Academy, many of them wearing their Konoha forehead protectors on their heads. They were all smiling as their parents showed up, proudly boasting about how they were now ninja of Konoha. He smiled as he continued looking around for Naruto… who showed up, without his forehead protector. Iruka raised both eyebrows as he walked over to Naruto and looked at him with a confused look.

"It wasn't the Replacement Jutsu…" Naruto said, not even needing to ask what Iruka was about to ask. "It was the Clone Jutsu." Naruto said as Iruka's eyes went slightly wide. Was he wrong? He was so sure that it was the Replacement Jutsu! Even Mizuki told him… Mizuki! Iruka looked up at the window where his class was taking place. Mizuki looked back at him with a smile and waved at him. Iruka gritted his teeth as he place a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

Next time for sure… next time…

R&R


	12. Chapter 12

Naruto: Alone

Hey there people, Arganaut here with the latest installment of Naruto: Alone. Now then, last chapter Iruka taught Naruto the Replacement Jutsu, trying to get Naruto out of the Academy as soon as possible. However, during this time, he discovered the true living condition that Naruto had been living under for the past... well, by that point in the story its been about... seven years. Now, under this condition, Iruka has several realizations, which lead to the final one, which is Naruto is not the Kyuubi.

Some of you think that perhaps that went a little too fast. Well let me tell you something, with the combination of a conscious, a sharp mind, and a whole load of guilt, you can pretty much make anyone do anything... I know, its been done to me.

Now then... to get about five weeks of news to the front... MGS4 looks kick ass, the Simpsons movie rocked the house, Harry Potter: DH... couldn't have a life without reading the book first (on a related note: SNAPE IS THE MOST AWESOME WIZARD!!!), the Naruto manga is heading to a slow and painful death, football starts soon, I got my license, Orange chicken is in no way, shape or form, better than General Tzo's chicken, I can't wait for the new version of Ninja Gaiden for Playstation 3, nor can I wait for Assassin's Creed for the XBox 360, Midori Days isn't a half-bad manga...

I think that's all of the news I have for now, so now lets get to those reviews people.

ri2- Well yeah it does... but I don't think that there's a particular fighting style that only dwarves would know, so I just call it fighting.

Avatarofrage- You know what... I thought it was pretty amusing as well. And, well, its tricky with the entire Naruto and Iruka thing. As for the 'secret way to graduate'... well, you'll see what goes on in this chapter.

MissNaye- Well, of course he was, what did you expect from him. Well... you'll see how, and who Naruto gets picked on teams later.

The Great Rick- Indeed, a normal day in the life of Naruto Uzumaki.

Ninja Wolf 25- Understandable.

**VFSnake- **Dude... calm down. You need to take your meds or something cause your spewing crazy all over me and my beta-reader... and he's not nearly as patient as I am.

IQSymphic- I'm glad you decided to give my fiction a chance... and as long as I have a good beta-reader like Zone, and reviewers likes you I'll be fine, and will never reach into the void of cliche.

paintball-gamer- Yeah, well Mizuki is an awfully tricky guy. And will Iruka take Naruto to Ichiraku's shakes magic 8-ball... it is a strong possibility.

Multi-fan46- Well, I'll admit it was sort of sudden, but as I've said above, if you think about it like that, then I think it would make a little more sense.

**DragonMan 180- **Thank you thank you, I thought of it myself... and I suppose if you look at it that way... Naruto's a little better off than he was before... at least he's not going off screaming 'Believe IT!' anymore.

Geminia- ... Your a bit twisted aren't you?

Gryphon Turboclaw- Well now, those reactions are actually pretty accurate if you ask me. And trust me.. if anyone's going to be a human pincushion its going to be Mizuki. And I made that mistake before... and I don't plan on making it again, I will NOT rush Hinata's and Naruto's relationship. And the thing with Neji... let's just say he caught him before he went under, and pulled him back towards the light... or did he?

EroEro-Kitsune- What don't you people get about 'NO CLICHENESS'!

rasengan86- Yeah well, I like to keep it interesting for the readers.

The Gandhara- Glad you found this fiction man. And I realize that it is a pretty large leap of faith, but hell, everything people do in anime requires a pretty large leap of faith to believe eh? Also, I hope you continue reading, and enjoy.

**ZoneshifterD- **LISTEN TO THE SANE BETA-READER!

FictionReader98- Yes, Iruka finally is warming up to Naruto... I think you'll enjoy what I have planned. As for the Academy thing... just wait and see. You don't really have much to look forward to for a little while with the NaruxHina... I'm keeping it slow. I think he will... he might just in this chapter. As for the entire 'Forbidden Scroll shtick"... wait and see.

Godentine- Hey, listen pal, sorry if this stories going a bit slow for you, but hey I'm just trying to build up a good back-story.

Well, with the reviews out of the way, we can get on with the next chapter of Naruto: Alone!

Chapter 12: Graduation...

Two Years Later - Konoha

It has been two years since the first failure of our hero, Naruto Uzumaki, and it's been a rather uneventful two years. Naruto has still been attending the Academy... though his late arrivals are becoming a rather common occurrence at the Academy. Now, these late arrivals are not because Naruto gets caught, oh no, its because of the growing amount of distractions, or Genjutsu skilled Chunin that find him under his transformation jutsu (which seem to be growing in amount, according to the Ninja Library, who have noted a large amount of Genjutsu scrolls that are rented).

Now, finding Naruto under the guise of a jutsu would normally have been enough to have gotten a good chance to catch him... however, as the residents, both civilian and ninja, of Konoha are coming to realize that as the situations change, the Street Fox will adapt to them easily. You see... when the Chunin finally were able to see past Naruto's transformation, they thought they had him. The kid only had speed, endurance, and Genjutsu on them before, and now all they had to do was outmaneuver/outrun him... especially with the civilian support that they are now able to access...

Though... what they hadn't learnt until several days later was that now, Naruto had a Ninjutsu to use against them. The Replacement Jutsu, simple as it may be, is an amazingly aggravating jutsu, especially when you're trying to catch someone who knows it, and can use it nearly at will. Now, whenever Chuunin chase Naruto, in the cases that he is not able to just outrun them, he replaces himself with random objects. Garbage cans, garbage, people, basically anything that isn't nailed to the ground the Street Fox will use to escape his pursuers...

In fact... this brings up one particular story. One day, a small cadre of Chuunins had once again found Naruto, and had begun chasing him as such. Now, as they were closing in on him, the one closest to the boy was mere feet away. Then he literally leapt at Naruto, hoping to tackle him to the ground. Naruto, however, had merely used the Replacement Jutsu... and had switched himself with a young woman. Now the hapless nin had tackled the young woman to the ground... and his face landed square onto her breasts...

The Suna-nin on the Land of Wind commented on seeing a 'shooting star' in the middle of the day, on that very same day. Astronomers are still baffled by the unusual phenomenon up until now.

However, that story is beyond the point. A year after Naruto had failed his first attempt at the Genin Exam, he was liable to take it again if he so chose to. However, Naruto was once again late on that day coming to the Academy... so late in fact that he missed his chance to take the Exam. When questioned by Iruka as to why he was late, Naruto merely stated that he was trying to get some breakfast from this fat man with long, red, spiked hair, with weird swirls on his cheeks... and he was nearly crushed to death when he tried to get away, and the man sat on him.

Naruto, however, was saved from further beating when the man picked him up, took him outside, and threw him all the way to the forest on the other side of Konoha. Naruto didn't feel the impact for he was unconscious before he even hit the ground. Hell, he was unconscious before the fat guy got up off of him. Iruka forgave Naruto... for he also had an altercation with an Akimichi over food... and it was not pretty. Speaking of which, I had better get to Iruka.

So far, over the past couple years, Iruka and Naruto had been getting along with each other rather well. Iruka would talk with Naruto some before, and during school... after school was not really an option since Naruto would leave the Academy before Iruka would even have a chance to stop him. Iruka had not taken Naruto out to eat... since it always seemed that Naruto either already had something to eat, or, left by the time he even looked up from his desk.

Now, this is not to say that Iruka took it easy on Naruto. He would still berate Naruto for being late, however seeing as how the circumstances were understandable, he took it a bit easy on Naruto. However, he would berate Naruto some, just to keep up appearances in front of the students at the Academy. Iruka never really had to yell at Naruto for not focusing, since the boy put everything he had into learning (however, he did have to break up verbal fights between Naruto and Kiba).

Neji, Tenten, and Lee had graduated the previous year... so Naruto now had to fend off the members of the Sasuke Uchiha Fan Club on his own... not an easy task. Naruto had seen a little bit of help from Iruka, as Iruka would usually ring the bell a little early during days where Naruto would nearly be mauled by them. Naruto was grateful for this, and usually would try to steer clear of Iruka when going on a stealing spree.

Overall, neither one of them would admit it to anyone, seeing as how such a thing would ruin the images they each had (Naruto, the lone Street Fox, and Iruka the fair Academy teacher), but they were fine with each other, and liked the other's company. As I had said, Neji, Tenten, and Lee had graduated the previous year... so Naruto now had only one member of his fan club around. Naruto had seen a little bit of Hinata around... though the second he'd see her, she'd be gone in the next instant.

But, now then, onto the present time in the story, right now it was a sunny morning in Konoha. The birds were chirping, the people were out and about on the street. And it looked like it was going to be a calm, easy morni...

**POOF!**

"Uh oh..."

"NARUTO UZUMAKI!" Looks like I was mistaken, for it seems that another chase between Naruto and some Chuunin has begun yet again. We currently see two Chuunin chasing after a twelve-year old Naruto, and in two years change has struck him, where it had not struck other aspects of his life. Though he was not tall for his age, he wasn't short either. There was still no real muscle tone piercing through his clothes, but it was easy to see that the boy was fit, seeing as how he had so very little baby fat on his face.

The clothes he wore... were the same style, and color scheme as his last, but only they seemed newer, and more fitting. What does this have to do with anything? Well... let's just say he stole some new clothes right under the SAME shop keeper's nose, and, just like last time, he got away from the Chuunin... albeit it was a really close call. But I digress. As of now Naruto was running around, a huge slice of ham tucked safely away into his right arm.

There were a few Chuunin chasing after him, wearing slightly annoyed looks on their faces. Naruto smirked as he looked straight ahead, to see a whole street filled with people, ready to try and get their hands on him. Naruto simply jumped several feet in the air, leaping over the crowd of pedestrians... or so he hoped. The Chuunin following him jumped three times higher than he did, and all three of them readied a nin-wire net. Naruto looked back at the Chunin as he completely turned his body and brought his hands together.

The Chuunin threw their nets as Naruto looked back at the crowd. He smirked as he began going through seals for his second jutsu. As the net nearly closed in on him, Naruto and the ham disappeared in an explosion of smoke, and as the cloud of smoke cleared... it revealed a random citizen. The nets closed in around the person, and he landed in the street with a loud thud. The pursuers looked at him, mystified and annoyed by our blond hero's trick.

Meanwhile, a small mouse was moving underneath the crowd of shocked people. It got out of the crowd just as the ninjas landed, and began running down the street. An explosion of smoke later revealed Naruto, with a huge smile on his face. "Try catching me now!" Naruto shouted as he took a quick turn down one of the streets. The Chuunin glared at him, and were about to follow him...

"WAIT!" The caught up pedestrian shouted as they looked at him. "Aren't you going to get me out first?!" He shouted as the Chuunin sweat dropped.

"We'll come back for you later!" One of them shouted as they began running, and the random citizen laughed nervously.

"Okay then... don't forget about me!" He shouted as the Chuunin turned down the street Naruto had. When they looked around... they found absolutely no sign of the little thief. Each of them gave an audible growl as they ran down the street, assuming that he had just gone down one of the streets. As soon as they left, a section of wall that they had passed by suddenly peeled off of the wall, revealing a smiling blond behind it. Naruto gave out a hardy laugh as he scratched the back of his head.

"Hahahahaha! Man what losers!" Naruto shouted as he brought his hands down and shrugged. "You think that they would have learned their lesson by now!" Naruto shouted as suddenly someone appeared behind him, Naruto being to busy gloating to notice the presence behind him.

"OH YEAH, NARUTO?!" Iruka shouted as Naruto jumped a few feet into the air, turned around, and saw Iruka standing behind him with an irate look on his face.

"Iru-Iruka-sensei?! What are you doing here?" Naruto asked as Iruka shook his head.

"I could ask you the same question." Iruka said as he looked at the ham in Naruto's hand. He already had a guess as to where it came from... so Iruka didn't bother asking. "Nice ham." Iruka said as Naruto looked at it, and gave him a nervous smile on his face.

"Yeah..." Naruto said as a smirk formed on Iruka's face, one that Naruto would know anywhere.

The Academy

It was about a half-hour later when Iruka had pulled a hog-tied Naruto, the ham shoved into his mouth, through the door, and into the classroom. The kids had been waiting for a long time for Naruto to show up today... but most of them really saw the point of waiting for Naruto. Iruka tossed Naruto in front of the classroom, and took the ham out of his mouth. "Hey! I was going to finish that!" Naruto shouted as Iruka noted the bite marks on the ham.

Iruka threw away the ham with slight disgust, and wiped off some of the slobber from his hand. The Academy teacher then looked down at his pupil with a pseudo-annoyed look. "Naruto, you can't just keep on showing up late like this. The other kids have to wait for you to start class, and I don't think they appreciate having to wait around for you." Iruka said as Naruto simply made a pouting face at his teacher.

Iruka's eyebrow twitched, once again, in false-annoyance... he had been looking for a good reason to practice the Transformation Jutsu... and Naruto was just the reason. It was actually thankful that Naruto was late this morning. "Fine, but as punishment for being late, everyone in the class are going to have to show the Transformation Jutsu." Iruka shouted as Sakura quickly raised her hand.

"But why Iruka-sensei?" Sakura said with no annoyance in her voice... however...

'**WHY SHOULD WE HAVE TO PAY FOR NARUTO'S LAZY ASS, CHA!!!**' Inner Sakura thought as Iruka shook his head.

"In the career of being a ninja, if one member of a team fails to do their duty, the entire team may fail. This is just a reminder of that lesson." Iruka said as the entire class groaned once more as they began filing up in front of Iruka, one by one. Sakura Haruno was up first... and the kunoichi really hadn't changed too much over the past couple years. She still had pink hair, though it was considerably longer now, and she wore a red dress with white designs on it... and that red ribbon on her head.

"Sakura Haruno here." Sakura said as she formed the Ram seal, and wisps of chakra began to form around her. "Transform!" She shouted as an explosion of smoke appeared around the bubble-gum colored hair kunoichi performed the jutsu. As the smoke cleared, a perfect replica of Iruka stood in the place where Sakura had once stood.

"So you chose me..." Iruka said as he marked her off on his chart. "Next." Iruka said as the Iruka in front of him disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and a joyous Sakura appeared in front of him.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes!" She shouted, jumping at each yes...

'**I KICK ASS!!!**' Inner Sakura shouted, giving a quick thumbs-up gesture. Sakura stopped jumping around, and took her place in line as Sasuke Uchiha stepped forward. Sasuke looked very much similar to how he looked a couple years ago. He was still wearing a dark blue shirt, though now the sleeve were shorter, and it had the Uchiha Clan symbol on the back. He was also wearing a pair of white shorts, and these weird white sleeve things on his forearms.

Sasuke formed the Ram seal, and without even saying a word a cloud of smoke appeared around him. A few seconds later, another perfect transformation of Iruka. Iruka nodded as he checked off Sasuke's name on the list. "Okay, next." Iruka said as Sasuke transformed back, and Naruto began stepping forward. Now then, Naruto had a bit of a reputation in class, he was indeed known as the Street Fox of Konoha, and infamous thief...

However... that's all they knew him by. Most of his class (save for a few who's parents told them otherwise (Yamanaka, Nara... and as of a year ago the Akimichi might not like him too much anymore)), knew him as just a simple thief. They all had not heard what Neji's, Tenten's, and Lee's class had heard... they had only heard about him being a thief. And to them, a common thief was not someone to look up to.

Though, none of them would doubt the skill the kid did possess. He was fast... however he was not agile (if you all don't see the difference... basically he can move really fast, but he can't turn on a dime). He was street smart... but not all too book smart. Now then, I ramble. Naruto now stands in front of Iruka, who at this point looks over Naruto cautiously. "Okay, go." Iruka said as Naruto formed the Ram seal.

Wisps of chakra surrounded him as he focused his chakra. "Transform!" Naruto shouted, turning into... Iruka? Yes... it was actually a perfect copy of Iruka... how boring. At any rate, Iruka marked his board, and then nodded at Naruto who then exploded in a cloud of smoke, and returned to his normal state. Naruto then took his place back in line as the other kids began practicing the jutsu. At this point, almost all of the students at the Academy were able to do all of the Academy level jutsu...

Well... Naruto was still having trouble with the Clone Jutsu... which both Iruka regretted since he knew that the jutsu for tomorrow's test was going to be on it... he had to tell Naruto somehow. 'I have an idea...' Iruka thought to himself as he nodded at the last student.

"Very good, all of you." Iruka said as gave one last check off on his clipboard. He allowed the students to go back to their seats, and then class for the day went on as per usual. The fan girls would swoon over Sasuke, Hinata would secretly watch Naruto from the back of the class... and Kiba would engage Naruto in all sorts of different contests... today's being a staring contest.

End of Class

The time was nearing the end of class for the day as Iruka put down his pen. He had finished all the extra work before class ended so that he could catch Naruto before he left. Iruka counted down the moments before class would end... not knowing that Naruto was doing the same out of boredom. Then, finally, the bell rang, and just as Naruto was about to rush out of the classroom, he heard something that stopped him in his tracks.

"Naruto, I would like to see you at my desk, now." Iruka said as Naruto sighed and walked down to Iruka's desk, a whole bunch of 'ooooooohhhh's being sounded by the other students as he walked down to the desk. After everyone had left Iruka smirked at the young blonde. "Well Naruto, I bet you're wondering why you're here right now?" Iruka said in a slightly cheeky voice as Naruto sighed slightly.

"Come on Iruka-sensei, stop with the theatrics and just tell me what you want." Naruto said as he smirked slightly. Iruka merely chuckled a bit as he looked at the Academy student.

"Well Naruto, I'd like to give you some news before tomorrow, seeing as how tomorrow is the Genin Exams... you didn't forget did you?" Iruka asked as Naruto scoffed.

"Come on Iruka-sensei, what do you take me for, some kind of idiot?" Naruto asked the Chunin as he turned his head to the side. If Naruto were to be honest, he was counting down the days till the Genin Exam... he was just hoping that this year the Clone Jutsu wouldn't be used... though, with the Substitution Jutsu having been used last year, and the Transformation Jutsu not being used in the test (due to the low amount of skill needed to use it)... chances were high in the Clone Jutsu's favor.

"Well Naruto, I just figured that I'd tell you what jutsu is going to be used in the Exam tomorrow." Iruka said as Naruto's attention was immediately drawn to Iruka. "But if you know so much about the Exams then I suppose that you don't..." Iruka began as he noticed the slight glare/stare he was receiving from Naruto. Iruka laughed a bit as he shook his head. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding." Iruka said as he ruffled Naruto's hair a bit.

"Anyway, the jutsu for tomorrow's Exam is going to be the Clone Jutsu..." Iruka said as both of them sighed. "My point exactly... so that's why I'm telling you this now so that..." Iruka began as suddenly Naruto perked up.

"You can help me master the Clone Jutsu in one night so that I can own the test and finally become a Genin?!" Naruto asked as little stars shimmered in his eyes. Iruka sighed as immediately the stars in Naruto's eyes just shimmered out.

"Sorry Naruto, but unfortunately, I have work to do tonight." Iruka said as Naruto gave him a questioning look. "You see, I've been hired part-time by the Hokage to work with him in the mission assignment office. It would add some more money into my paycheck, so I took the job." Iruka said as he looked to the side. "I'm starting tonight, so I wouldn't be able to help you." Iruka said as he sighed and looked up at Naruto.

"I'm sorry Naruto, I really want to help you... but I can't... so sorry." Iruka said as Naruto sighed... before smirking at Iruka.

"Don't worry about it Iruka-sensei, I'll just keep on working at it on my own tonight, and I'll get it by morning! You'll see!" Naruto shouted as he stood up with a jolt, and punched his fist into the air before running out of the room with a start. Iruka merely sat there, a bit dumbfounded by the blond's response. But, after a few minutes, Iruka smiled as he stood up.

"You can do it Naruto." Iruka muttered as he began making his way to the mission assignment office.

...To Be Continued in Part 2... MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Omake 1

It was night-time in Konoha, and all of its residents had gone to sleep. "Hello?" Well, all but the random resident who was caught up in the nin-wire net. "Is someone there? I need help!" He shouted as he struggled in the net. "I'M HUNGRY!" He shouted as little streams of tears began coming out of his eyes. Suddenly, a little white dog came out of nowhere, and began smelling the man. "Oh, good doggie! Go find help!" He shouted as the dog turned... and lifted up his leg.

"NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"...


	13. Chapter 13

Naruto: Alone

Hey there everyone, Arganaut's back with the latest chapter of Naruto: Alone. First and foremost, I'd like to apologize for not getting this chapter in sooner. You see, I've been grounded for an indefinite amount of time, and I've only been allowed on the computer to write every now and again. But, now I have plenty of time during my Thanksgiving Vacation to write a lot. So, I've been using this opportunity to write, and get the new chapter out finally.

Well, last chapter we got an update on Naruto's situation over the past few years of his life, and we've learned that soon it will be time for him to take the Genin Exams for the third time, and hopefully for him, the last time. But... however, there will be a problem with this... what the problem will be... I won't be able to tell you what it will be or when it will appear. So, so that we can get on with the story, let's get to your many, many, many reviews:

Artemis Ignitan- I do like my Omakes too... but, situations that can be misconstrued into an Omake. But as for the Forbidden Scroll... you'll have to wait and see.

vnvanman- Just be patient man... seriously, I'm just trying to set a very strong, and very dependable back story.

MissNaye- Yeah... poor Naruto and Hinata.

The Great Rick- That's actually a very good question Rick... and I'm not entirely sure. I guess you'd have to check out the oldest of the oldest Naruto stories and find the first one that had used the idea... or even where the person who wrote it got the idea. But, hell, you have to admit, it turned into quite the fandom didn't it?

Silver Warrior- I know... poor netizen.

**paintball-gamer- **It should go different, though if it doesn't, then oh well.

xXLucifer's-agentXx- Well... I'm not too cool with young kids smoking or doing stuff like that... so I've been kind of avoiding that route.

**Dragon Man 180**- Well... that's true, however it won't help him if he can't do the Clone Jutsu.

**Zoneshifter D-** Listen to him!!!

**FictionReader98-** Yes, indeed, this chapter will probably have the biggest impact on the story for a while, and it will be the beginning of what everyone wants, the changed cannon of the original Naruto. I have to admit, your predictions for what Mizuki will do... you have some parts right, but not exactly right.

**The Gandhara**- Before I begin... WELCOME TO MY LIST OF 'GR's (Greater Reviewers). You've earned it man! Anyway, yeah, I've been expecting to surprised a few people with Naruto's actions during the transformation test, good to know that I did indeed shock you. And you know what, thanks, its good to know there are reviewers like you out there, who are able to make my list.

AznPuffyHair- Well, its not exactly 'over' but suspended, due to not being able to see him as often as they could.

**VFSNAKE- **Dude, listen, if I made those kind of changes, the thick atmosphere of conflict and plot that I created in this story would be all for not, it would mean nothing. No such major changes can be made so instantaneously, and will not be.

Krillin Fan- Lots of people are waiting for the Naru/Hina fluff... but I can't guarantee that there'll be a lot of it soon my friend. Patience, just have patience.

VampyreVixen16- Well... nice to know that I've helped you or inspired in some way. But, I am really, really busy, but I'll be sure to get to your story sometime. Also... your PMs... you need counseling dude. I mean, seriously, YOU THREATENED ME BECAUSE I COULDN'T UPDATE MY STORY! You know what, that's seriously disturbing pal.

Gryphon Turboclaw- Hmm... very good analysis Gryph, very good analysis.

Vampy- Nice to have a fan who notices so much, I'll be sure to look out for your reviews.

Animeskid- Don't worry about it man, I didn't really mind, I was a little put off, but I didn't mind, after all, I get tons of reviews and PMs like yours, it just doesn't bother me.

Oh, one more thing, there's just one little review that was made that I have to throw in... normally I don't look at these kind of reviews, but this one... just too... well, read it:

_breion- no naruto hinata shes weak and useless and dont try to make her_

_suddenly have_

_confidence parings naruto itachi_

Okay, dude, first off... HOW MANY FREAKIN' TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY NO YAOI FOR IT TO BE OBVIOUS! Secondly, I don't use clichés; making Hinata confident suddenly is one. Thirdly... if you don't like the pairing, just click that nice little button at the top right corner of your screen. It'll make this NaruxHina story disappear!

So, how about this, so that there aren't any more mistakes, I'll say this as plainly as possible. 1. Don't ask me for a certain type of pairing, the pairings I have planned out for this story will remain as such, and nothing will change my mind. Secondly, if you do ask for a pairing, at least don't make it a Yaoi or Yuri ... if you do, sorry, I won't acknowledge any of your reviews ever again.

And for those who try to say 'that's cruel', listen. I'm tired of reviews that tell me to 'do this' or 'don't do this' or 'this pairings wrong' or 'random pairing here FTW!'. LISTEN TO ME! If you're going to review, at least tell me what I'm doing right (non-pairing related) or what I'm doing wrong (once again, non-pairing related). If it's some kind of command related to pairings... just don't bother... please.

But... back to my senses... there were so many reviews I had to respond to... but, with all that out of the way, its time for the next exciting, action-packed (not really), plot-filled chapter of Naruto: Alone!!!

Chapter 12: Graduation Part 2...

_Last Time on Naruto: Alone;_

"_Don't worry about it Iruka-sensei, I'll just keep on working at it on my own tonight, and I'll get it by morning! You'll see!" Naruto shouted as he stood up with a jolt, and punched his fist into the air before running out of the room with a start. Iruka merely sat there, a bit dumbfounded by the blond's response. But, after a few minutes, Iruka smiled as he stood up._

"_You can do it Naruto." Iruka muttered as he began making his way to the mission assignment office._

_And Now, For Our Featured Presentation_

Naruto dashed out of the Academy with a wide smirk adorning his features. Having spent that time with Iruka, even if it was a small amount, allowed the students to return home, leaving Naruto alone in the open area of the Academy. The young blond smirked as he once again began running, looking around for a good alley to slip into to get back to his hideout. He passed by civilians, and though some would try to catch him, most would simply ignore him, seeing as how they couldn't really catch him no matter how hard they tried.

Even when he passed by other ninja he was left alone, since he had not, or was not currently doing something, they couldn't 'punish' him without being reprimanded by the Hokage. So Naruto, for the most part, was able to run down the streets until he found a good alley that would get him back 'home' safely. He ran in, and just as he was fifteen feet into the alley. "Yo, Uzumaki!" A voice shouted as Naruto suddenly stopped and looked around. He looked around all sides of the alley and didn't find a single soul. "Up here!" The voice rang out as Naruto did look up, to find Mizuki on the side of one of the buildings.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing up there?" Naruto asked, his hand itching towards his kunai pouch, just incase he would try to do something funny. Mizuki merely shrugged as he walked down the side of the wall... a trick Naruto had seen several times, and really wanted to be able to do.

"Well, I wanted to ask you what you're doing down there." He said, Naruto tilting his head to the side in a confused manner as he looked up at the Academy teacher.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, sounding very confused. "I'm getting ready to study for the Genin Exam so I can finally graduate!" Naruto shouted, a very determined grin on his face as Mizuki shook his head.

"I could guess that, Uzumaki, but why would you bother 'studying' a technique that, more likely than not, you won't be able to do... when you could use a different method?" Mizuki said, causing the young Street Fox to raise an eyebrow and look at him.

"A... different method?" Naruto asked, suddenly very intrigued... which caused Mizuki to inwardly smirk.

"Oh, you mean you've never heard... of the Scroll Method?" The trickster said, noticing Naruto shake his head side to side. "How could you have not heard about this?" Mizuki said, not standing straight on the ground.

"I dunno... Iruka-sensei didn't say anything about it." Naruto said, causing Mizuki to laugh a little bit.

"That's probably because only the best Academy teachers can know about this method, and judge who gets to take advantage of it." He said, smirking as he watched Naruto's eyes focus solely on him.

"Go on..." Naruto said, though he had his doubts about what Mizuki was saying... he had to admit, he was very interested in this 'Scroll Method'. Mizuki, on the other hand, was glad that he was slowly pulling Naruto into the palm of his hand.

"Well... you see, there's a very big, very important scroll inside the Hokage's office, called the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing. Now, the reason why it's called 'Forbidden' is because only the most worthy and strong Ninja can read it, and learn its jutsu," Mizuki said, fabricating a lie to cover up why exactly the scroll was forbidden. "You see... what you have to do is sneak into the old man's office, get the scroll and learn one single technique from the scroll. When you do, you just show me the technique you learned, and if you're good enough you'll graduate... and since the technique you'd learn would be so difficult... you'd graduate at the top of the class" Mizuki said, trying to make the offer sound more and more appealing by the second.

Naruto stood there, his slightly slacked-jaw as he listened to what could only be described as a Godsend. This 'Scroll Method' sounded like it would get him to the top, get him a good life, get him so much respect... but, he still tried to remain calm, and tried to get as much information as possible. "So... you talk about this Scroll Method as if it's such a great thing... so, who graduated using it?" Naruto asked, wondering who had actually graduated using this method.

Mizuki kept his calm exterior up. However, that question dealt a pretty powerful blow to him. He hadn't expected that blond brat to ask such a thing… but he just decided to roll with it. "Who graduated, who graduated?" Mizuki asked, as if it were the most ridiculous sounding thing in the world. "Why, the Legendary Sannin graduated using this method... the 'Copy Nin' graduated using this method... I graduated using this method; hell, even the Fourth Hokage graduated using this method!" Mizuki said with large amounts of energy, trying to sell the final point.

'If this doesn't reel him in...' Mizuki thought as he kept the large grin on his face. The blond Academy student merely looked down at the ground in shock, almost unable to believe what he had been told. He had heard about those ninja at the Academy, hell Mizuki was standing right in front of him... and if they, according to Mizuki, could become so prominent... then... maybe he should drop the training for the Clone Jutsu for this method...

"_Don't worry about it Iruka-sensei, I'll just keep on working at it on my own tonight, and I'll get it by morning! You'll see!" _

The words that Naruto had shouted to Iruka in such a proud and determined manner came to his mind. 'I told Iruka-sensei I'd be able to do it...' Naruto thought as he stood there, Mizuki looking down at him expectantly. 'I said I'd be able to graduate that way... I did.' He thought in his mind as he looked up at Mizuki. 'But his offer, the Scroll Method, it sounds so good...' The Street Fox thought, before another crossed his mind. 'Too good to be true.' He thought simply as he shook his head side-to-side, causing Mizuki to raise an eyebrow.

"It sounds nice Mizuki-sensei, but no thank you." Naruto said before turning towards the alley. "Now, if you don't mind." He said, beginning to sprint down the alley. Mizuki, on the other hand, just stared after him before smirking slightly while shaking his head.

"Oh boy, looks like I'm going to have to wait for him to fail." Mizuki said confidently as he began walking away. Yes, it was true; Mizuki had no doubt in his mind that Naruto would fail the Exam. It was just that, well, he knew that the Clone Jutsu was by far Naruto's most difficult and knew that, chances were, Naruto would not be able to master the Clone Jutsu in one night on his own. Now, if Iruka were helping him, that would be an entirely different story... however, fate seemed to smile upon the schemer when Iruka took a job at the Mission Assignment Office.

Yes... even if Naruto refused the offer this time... there'd be no way he'd say no when he failed the Exam, and would be desperately looking for a way to graduate. All Mizuki would have to do is offer him the 'Scroll Method' again, he'd take it. And then, with his skill in sneaking and stealing, Naruto would easily take the scroll, and with his weak Taijutsu skill... Mizuki would be able to rip that scroll from his hands without too much of an effort.

Mizuki would be able to take the scroll, and not only would the Street Fox be blamed and executed, he'd get off, scot-free. It was just too perfect. "Just wait Naruto... you'll get that scroll for me soon enough." Mizuki said as he jumped out of the alley, making a run for his home. It was getting late, and he needed plenty of rest if he was going to put his plan into motion tomorrow. 'Just be patient Mizuki, just be patient.' The conniving ninja thought to himself as the smile he used on Naruto turned into a very cynical smirk.

Meanwhile, at Naruto's hideout, Naruto had just arrived at it, cracking his neck as he took off his jacket and threw it to the side. "Alright, no fooling around, its time to get to work!" Naruto said, before his stomach growled loudly. He froze for a second, sweat dropping before chuckling nervously. "But first... time for dinner!" He shouted as he ran out of the hideout again, this time a kunai drawn, ready to kill, skin, and then chop up anything he might catch.

----- About an Hour Later ----

Naruto returned, a few skinned rabbits and a turtle hanging by ninja wire slung over his shoulder, whistling a slightly happy tune as he smirked. "Now this is a catch." He stated, setting up a fire and hanging the rabbits over the fire, and then placed the turtle, shell and all, right into the fire. He set it up nicely so that, after what he assumed would be a half an hour, they would be cooked enough for him to eat without feeling sick. Naruto laid down and began relaxing, not being able to train well on an empty stomach.

A half-hour later, Naruto threw water on the fire, putting it out and cooling the turtle's shell. He took the skinned rabbits, which by now were nice and brown, off of the wire and then placed them to the side. He then grabbed the turtle shell and tapped the sides with a small amount of strength, causing the shell to break into two halves, one he used to hold the turtle meat, the other to hold the rabbits.

What went on was too gruesome to describe, as Naruto tore into those pieces of meat, like how a fat guy tears into a pizza while staying at a weight-watchers convention. A few minutes later, only a few entrails and skeletons remained of the turtle and rabbits, as Naruto rubbed his stomach happily. "Yum... tastes like chicken." He said, cracking his neck as he stood up. "But seriously, it's time to get to work!" Naruto said, punching the palm of his hand as he walked to the side of the hideout.

Naruto clapped his hands together and formed a seal, the blond ninja smirking a little bit. "HERE WE GO!" He shouted as chakra began surrounding him.

---- The Hideout ---- 6:30 A.M. ---- Thirty Minutes before Beginning of Genin Exam ----

Naruto stood up tall, breathing raggedly as he looked at a puff of smoke, smirking all the while. "Yes..." He said, cracking his neck while the smoke dissipated, disappearing altogether in a matter of moments. "I've got it... I'm gonna do it!" Naruto shouted as he jumped up and punched his fist into the air. He looked up at the sky... and nearly panicked when he saw where the sun was approaching. "OH DEAR GOD!" Naruto shouted as he began running around the camp. "I gotta get going!" He shouted, getting some matching clothes on, taking a bit of scraps that were left from the meal last night, and then getting his ninja gear together.

"Come on, come on, COME ON!" He shouted as, instead of running through the alleys, like he normally would, he leapt up onto the rooftop, leaping from roof to roof as he sprinted to make it to the Academy, hopefully he'd have some time to spare for just relaxing. It was a good ten minutes before classes started when Naruto showed up, busting through the doors into his own classroom, before running to his seat. Many of the students simply raised an eyebrow at this; Naruto did not arrive later normally, unless he was a bit worse for wear... so this peaked their curiosity when he came a little later than normal.

However, there was little time to think about it as both Mizuki and Iruka walked into the classroom, a list in Iruka's hand as he looked over all of his students. "Good morning class." The tan Academy teacher greeted as the class nodded their head.

"Good morning Iruka-sensei." The entire class answered back, some of them sounding more nervous than others. Iruka laughed at this, shaking his head a little bit.

"I see that some of us are a little nervous about the exams." He said, some students nodding their heads. "Don't worry; I'm sure that all of you will be passing the Exams this year." He said, holding up the chart, sending a small glance to Naruto as he did. "This year's jutsu is going to be the Clone Jutsu," Iruka said, a few relieved sighs or nervous curses being sounded. "We'll call you into the testing room, one by one, in alphabetical order, to begin the exam, starting with Choji Akimichi." Iruka said, as the 'tubby' Choji got up out of his seat and began following Iruka and Mizuki to the testing room.

The next half-hour was one of the most nerve-racking experiences of his life. The entire time he was just thinking about what if he couldn't do it, couldn't pass the exam. He sat there, the entire half-hour, just waiting for his name to be called. Every other name that was called was to him a bell, tolling for him, every tick of the clock painfully apparent to him. "Naruto Uzumaki." Iruka finally said, causing the nerved Academy Student to get up out of his seat with an exasperated sigh, and begin to follow the only person in the Academy who currently supported him... well, the only person he knew about.

Naruto followed Iruka into the testing room, which was filled with only a desk, two chairs for both Iruka and Mizuki to sit on, and on that table were several Konoha headbands... the very objects Naruto had been working to obtain for the past six years. He began sweating a little as the scarred Academy teacher took a seat next to his pale 'friend', smiling nervously at Naruto. "Well Naruto... all you have to do is perform the Clone Jutsu successfully... and you're out of here." Iruka said, Naruto nodding as some of his courage came back to him.

It was at this point where self-consciousness began nagging at the back of Mizuki's mind. What if he actually passed? How would he succeed in his plans? If Naruto did pass, where would he find another Academy Student who would be as desperate as Uzumaki to trick into stealing the scroll?... these questions began pouring into Mizuki's mind, as he tried to reassure himself about the security of his own plan. He stared Naruto down, trying to keep a nervous sweat from appearing on his skin.

The Street Fox of Konoha took one last sigh as he placed his hands together into a seal, trying to properly control his chakra, shaping it so that he could use it for a, hopefully successful, Clone Jutsu. Tendrils of chakra surrounded Naruto, spinning around him quickly as he grit his teeth together. "CLONE JUTSU!" Naruto shouted, his voice strong and determined as a large cloud of smoke surrounded him, covering him and any possible clones from view. In this one moment, both of the Academy teachers' eyes were right on the cloud of smoke, watching for any sign of success, or in Mizuki's case failure.

The smoke cleared out slowly and surely, revealing the top halves of... three Narutos. Iruka's hand twitched for the headband as he looked upon the scene with hope. However, that hope was completely dashed when the rest of the smoke cleared, revealing that the bottom halves of the two Naruto clones that Naruto had created were complete and utter failures. The legs of the clones were bent backwards at the knee, with the actually joint itself jutting in to different directions. The toes were pointed in every which direction, and the overall color of the clones was very pale, and very grey. Everyone in the room sweat dropped as Mizuki cleared his throat. 

"Well... this is... unexpected," he said, his level of confusion apparent in his voice. "We've never had a student create two clones that were only half right..." He said slowly, still unsure if he was really seeing this. "How do we judge this Iruka?" He asked his friend, honestly and completely unsure about whether or not Naruto had actually graduated or not. Iruka, in the meantime, sat there, his right hand rubbing the bridge of his nose as he thought it over, Naruto, meanwhile, was sweating profusely.

"Well... let's look at it this way Mizuki." Iruka finally said, both sets of eyes on him. "Its true, Naruto did hold up the jutsu to create two clones, halves of clones to be more precise..." Iruka began, Naruto smiling a little bit. "But, let's say we remove the failed halves of the clones, and then combine the other two halves... in theory we'd only have one successful clone along with Naruto..." Iruka said, causing Mizuki to inwardly smirk, while a nauseous feeling came over Naruto. "Naruto, I'm sorry, but we can't pass you with that... you fail." Iruka said, he himself sounding down as the third time failure merely lowered his head and walked out of the room.

-The End of the School Day-

The bell rang for the Academy as the students began pouring out, most of them wearing the Konoha headbands they had been given after they had passed the Genin Exam, all of them running to their parents, all of them with smiles on their faces... well, all of them except for one. Naruto walked out of the Academy slowly, walking over to the swing he had sat on when waiting for the first day at the Academy to begin. He sat on it and watched as the various graduates were congratulated by their parents.

"Hey, isn't that the Street Fox?" He heard as he looked up, seeing two women looking at him from the other side of the Academy.

"Yeah, that's him." One of them said, shaking her head. "I heard that he was the only one to fail the Exam this year." She said, Naruto lowering his head slightly.

"Good." The other said, causing Naruto to lower his head even more. "I mean, could you imagine him being a ninja. He'd run around, causing all kinds of trouble for the village, and then there's the fact that little brat's the..." She began saying, before her friend cut her off.

"Shh!" She said, causing Naruto to look up interest. "You know we aren't allowed to talk about it." She said, causing Naruto to drop his head again.

"Well, looks like you weren't able to do it." Naruto heard suddenly as he looked to the side, only to see Mizuki standing over him. The Street Fox of Konoha simply scoffed at him.

"Yeah..." He said, as Mizuki patted him on the shoulder.

"Well... you know Uzumaki, my offer is still open... you can still graduate if you pass using the Scroll Method." He said, Naruto's eyes widening slightly, staring at Mizuki, a conflict going on behind his eyes. He knew that he probably shouldn't try this, he knew that there was something wrong with it... but, this was his last chance, he needed it.

"Alright... fine," he said, causing Mizuki to smirk as Naruto raised his head, causing Mizuki to drop the smirk in favor of a smile. "Just give me the information I'll need..."

Mizuki nodded. "Alright Uzumaki, follow me," He said, leaping off, Naruto following him while listening to him talk about what he has to do...

-- Hokage's Tower --

It was late at night, the stars were lit up in the night sky, crickets could be heard in the distance, and the crescent moon was perfectly positioned in the sky. Though the light from the celestial body was very inopportune for a certain twelve-year old thief, he'd have to deal with it. Naruto leaped from rooftop to rooftop, forging his way towards the Hokage Tower. According to Mizuki, the scroll Naruto had to get was in a hidden vault in the Hokage's office.

He jumped one more time before stopping his jump, the roof he was on adjacent to the Tower. He looked down, and saw Chuunin guards surrounding the front door... Mizuki told him it wasn't going to be that easy. Naruto sat down and tapped his chin for a moment, thinking of a way to get in. He smirked as he stood up, and performed a few seals, one solid Naruto clone appearing beside him. "And Iruka-sensei said one clone wouldn't do any good..." He said as he began performing seals. "Transform." Naruto said, transforming so that he looked like a Chunin.

Both he and his clone went down to street level, walking towards the Hokage's Tower, holding the clone's arms behind its back. Naruto carried a smug grin on his face as he waved at the Chuunin guarding the door. "Got to take this little shit to the Hokage." He said, causing the two Chuunin to smirk.

"Go right on through." They said, sending sadistic glances at the clone. Naruto himself grinned as they walked past the guards. Naruto and his clone began ascending the stairs, Naruto dispersing his clone as he began thinking of a disguise to fool the old man... before smirking again. "Transform..." Naruto muttered, a small puff of smoke surrounding him, revealing an exact replica of the weird guy with the mask who chased him six years ago after clearing up. He walked up to the front door of the old man's office, and then opened it up...

Only to find it completely empty. "What the hell?" He said, dispersing his jutsu and returning to his normal form. "Huh, wonder why the old man isn't here?" the demon container wondered aloud as he walked through the office. "Whatever, just makes the job easier," Naruto said, walking to a certain spot on the wall. "Mizuki-sensei said it was right... here." He said, pressing a certain spot on the wall. In that moment, an entire case full of scrolls moved away from the wall, revealing a small room behind it. In it, was a giant scroll. And this scroll was huge, almost as tall as Naruto. He stared at the scroll for a while before walking over.

"This... is just too easy." He said, his mind beginning to go to certain conclusions that he didn't want to reach. "No, I've just been really good about this." He said, picking up the scroll and putting it on his back. He then performed the Transformation Jutsu once again, turning back into the Chunin as he exited the vault, closing it back up by pressing the part of the wall again. He smirked as he began walking down the stairs, smirking all the way...

Then... he saw the old man. He almost froze completely, but continued to walk down the stairs. The old man smiled at him, nodding his head. "Good evening." He said simply as he walked by.

"Good evening." Naruto returned, still shaking a bit. After a few moments, when the old man's footsteps were out of earshot, Naruto sighed in relief. "Oh thank God..." He said aloud as he reached the bottom of the stairs, before walking right out of the Tower. The two Chunin guards tried to ask him something, but he rushed out of there, trying to get out of there as quickly as possible. He reached an alleyway and entered it, disengaging the jutsu almost immediately afterwards.

He sprinted through the alleys, making his way towards the forest. "Alright.. now I just have to get out to the old shack in the middle of the forest, and learn one of these jutsu while I wait for Mizuki-sensei." He said quickly as he rearranged the scroll on his back. As Naruto ran, the Hokage entered his office, and quickly discovered that the Forbidden Scroll was missing, and began getting all of the ninja together to search for the scroll.

-- The Forest -- A Few Hours Later --

(A/N Yes, I know this is awfully lazy of me, not describing Naruto's training with the scroll... but, come on people, its kind of straight forward don't you think...also, Death Note is scary A/N)

Naruto leaned up against one of the trees in the clearing, breathing deeply as he tried to regain his breath and stamina. He'd been training for hours, and now he was completely exhausted from the exertion he had put on himself. When he had arrived at the clearing, he immediately got to work on the scroll... and the first jutsu was one that pissed him off immensely. The Shadow Clone Jutsu. At first, he had been amazingly pissed off at this turn of events, and nearly didn't bother with it... though after some thought, he decided that since he wasn't so great with the Clone Jutsu, he should try to get this one down.

So, for a while, he tried just doing the jutsu, having to use a different seal he had found in the scroll, it was the shape of a cross. So... he tried it... and he tried it... and he tried it.. and he got pissed off, and nearly tore the scroll to pieces. After a couple hours, though, he finally started understanding the mechanics of the jutsu. And then, up to a few minutes ago, he was doing great. Then.. he crashed, and there the Street Fox was, leaning against a tree. He chuckled lightly as he cracked his neck, having finally finished getting the jutsu under his control.

Suddenly, though, Naruto heard something beside him. Thinking it was Mizuki, Naruto stood up, and was prepared to tell Mizuki he had done it, to see Iruka standing in front of him. Naruto froze for a second, before scratching the back of his head and laughing sheepishly. "Umm... hi Iruka-sensei." Naruto said, his voice just as shaky as he was. Iruka raised his eyebrows, looking over Naruto's worn and torn form.

'He's been practicing.' Iruka thought, before shaking his head. "Naruto, what the hell is wrong with you? Why'd you steal the Scroll?" He asked, sounding more concerned than angry. Naruto, on the other hand, just shrugged.

"Well Iruka-sensei... Mizuki-sensei told me about this way I can become a Genin, said that if I stole this scroll and learned one of the jutsu I'd become a Genin." He said, making Iruka's eyebrows raise even more. "He said he'd be around soon to evaluate my progress with the jutsu..." Naruto said, as suddenly something snapped inside Iruka's mind.

Mizuki had come to his door, telling him, specifically, that Naruto had stolen the Forbidden Scroll, yet when he and some other ninja were standing in front of the Hokage, he made no mention of any person, by name, who had done this. If Mizuki knew who stole the scroll, he would've... should've told the Hokage about it... unless. Suddenly, the sounds of shuriken flying through the air met his ears, causing his eyes to widen considerably.

"Naruto, move!" Iruka shouted as he pushed Naruto away from him as suddenly several shuriken struck Iruka, some cutting into him, while others nailed him onto the side of the wooden shack. Naruto was probably the most confused he had been in his entire life, watching as Iruka was attacked by shuriken coming out of nowhere. Suddenly Mizuki appeared, two giant shuriken on his back, landing on top of a tree branch nearby.

"Good job Uzumaki, now just hand over the scroll, and I'll take a look at your jutsu." He said, barely trying to head the cynicism in his voice or in his smirk. Naruto, still stunned, was just about to, before Iruka chimed in.

"Don't do it Naruto, Mizuki's only going to take the scroll and betray the village, you can't let him have it!" Iruka shouted, causing Naruto to look back at him with a slightly distressed expression on his face.

"No Naruto, you can't believe him, he's the one who didn't allow you to graduate when you deserved to earlier today, so why listen to him now?!" Mizuki shouted, Naruto's mind slowly starting to spin.

"Naruto, he's lying to you, don't believe him!" Iruka shouted, causing Mizuki to laugh aloud.

"Me, lying to him, please Iruka, you've been lying to him the entire time he was in the Academy, hell, the entire village has been lying to him since he was born!" Mizuki shouted, causing Naruto to look at him with a slightly confused look.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Naruto asked, his voice shaken slightly due to the stress of the situation, though Iruka was beginning to panic at this point.

"No Mizuki, you know its forbidden to talk about it!" Iruka shouted, as the traitor simply ignored him, looking straight at Naruto.

"Naruto, haven't you ever wondered why the village hated you so much?" Mizuki asked, a smug grin replacing the cynical smirk. Naruto merely stood there, an eyebrow raised as he nodded.

"Yeah, its because I steal stuff." The Street Fox stated, which caused Mizuki to laugh aloud.

"If that was the only thing you did Naruto, the entire village could care less about you!" Mizuki shouted, twisting his head to the side lightly. "Yeah, they'd be annoyed, but they wouldn't hate you on the scale they do now, and here's why!" Mizuki started, Iruka now fervently pulling at the shuriken that stuck him to the shack.

"DON'T DO IT!" He shouted, Mizuki once again ignoring him completely.

"Twelve years ago Naruto, as I'm sure you know, the Fourth Hokage managed to defeat the Nine-Tailed Fox, the Kyuubi, and stopped it from completely destroying the village... however, he couldn't kill it." Mizuki said lowly, causing Naruto's eyes to narrow slightly. "You see... he had to seal it into something, something that could adjust to the chakra of the Kyuubi being inside of it... it needed to have pre-mature, undeveloped chakra coils." He said, laughing lowly.

"It had to be a newborn baby, its umbilical cord barely cut from its stomach." He said, his smirk growing. "Naruto, do you know what day your birthday is?" He asked, causing Naruto to blank out, having never been told his birthday before. "I figured as much... so I'll just go ahead and tell you." He said, the cynicism slowly returning to his voice. "Its October 10th, the exact same day that fox attacked the village." He said, causing Naruto's eyes to widen in realization.

"You mean I'm... I'm..." He began, tears slowly starting to come to his eyes.

"That's right Uzumaki, you're the child the Fourth Hokage sealed the Kyuubi into, and the reason the entire village hates you is because you ARE the fox itself, and you're the one responsible for the deaths of hundreds of ninja, including Iruka's parents!" Mizuki shouted, Naruto grasping his head as the tears began flowing.

"NO, ITS NOT TRUE, ITS IMPOSSIBLE!" Naruto shouted, though he knew he was lying to himself... it all made sense when he thought about it. The reason he was so fast, had so much energy, why he was able to do the things he did, or why he healed so fast... it all lead back to the fact... that he was a demon. Then.. Naruto suddenly realized something. His dream of becoming a ninja, of becoming someone who people would respect, of being able to have a life of his own... it was impossible.

They'd never let a demon... a monster at that, become a ninja... no wonder Iruka flunked him... he killed his family... he killed so many people. Mizuki plucked one of the two giant shuriken from his back, and brought it into position. "Now Kyuubi, its time for you to die!" Mizuki shouted, throwing the shuriken straight at Naruto. The infamous Street Fox, who was prized for his ability to dodge just about any projectile... just stood there, unable to move with the weight of this knew knowledge now so prominent on his conscious.

Suddenly, he fell back to the ground, and heard the sound of metal piercing flesh... though he didn't feel any pain. 'Is that what death feels like?' He thought to himself as he opened his eyes. He looked straight up, the moon and the stars still in the sky... so he wasn't dead, then what got hit. He looked down, and was shocked to see Iruka standing over him, the giant shuriken sticking out of his back as tears were also in his eyes

Iruka chocked back a small cough, and then began to speak. "When I was younger... after my parents died... I felt completely alone... I had no one to turn to... I was desperate for attention Naruto... I... became a class clown, making a joke out of myself and everything I did, just so that people would look at me... my grades suffered, and I nearly didn't graduate from the Academy when the Exam came around..." Iruka said, coughing this time, a little bit of blood being spat out onto Naruto's face, though its not as if Naruto noticed, as his attention was solely on Iruka.

"Naruto... I understand what being completely alone must've felt like for you... but... that's all I can say I understand... since you and I are completely different." Iruka said, causing Naruto to look to the side. "We're different... because you were so much stronger than I was." He said, causing Naruto to look at him in shock. "I tried to gain attention through making a fool of myself.. you... you tried to better yourself, you worked hard to gain what you wanted." He said, coughing a little more. "You pushed forward, even when it seemed like your goal was impossible to reach... and that's why... after I really got to know you that day during your first try at the Exam... I... began respecting you." He said, both he and Naruto now looking each other in the eye.

Iruka, while he was sure about what he was saying... Naruto wasn't so sure about what he was hearing. In an instant, Naruto bolted off, running far away from both Iruka and Mizuki, trying to get a grip on what was happening. "NARUTO!" He heard Iruka shout, but he didn't turn back, he just kept on running. He ran and he ran for several minutes, before leaning against a tree, clutching the Forbidden Scroll close to him. He was still slightly exhausted from practicing the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and needed to rest a little more.

"Iruka, you know what he's gonna do." He heard suddenly, which caused him to freeze up. He peeked around the tree, and saw Mizuki and Iruka, Mizuki standing a few feet away from Iruka, while Iruka was sitting against a tree, a little bit of blood coming out of one of the corners of his mouth. "He's just going to take that scroll, and learn its secrets so that he can go back and destroy the village, that's what monsters do." Mizuki said, which caused a small pang in Naruto's heart.

Iruka, on the other hand, merely smirked. "Yeah, that's what a monster would do." In that moment, Naruto's heart felt like it was ripped in two, new tears reforming.

"So... Iruka-sensei did just think I was a monster..." He muttered, ready to sprint off... before he heard the rest of Iruka's speech.

"But that's not Naruto, he's a excellent and brave young man, who's fought his entire life and has grown strong because of it!" He said, causing Naruto to freeze. "He's not the Kyuubi in any shape or form, he's the Street Fox of Konoha, Naruto Uzumaki, and will one day become a proud member of this village's ninja force!" Iruka shouted with conviction, which caused Mizuki to scoff, but earned fresh new tears from Naruto.

"Pathetic Iruka." Mizuki stated, picking the next shuriken from his back. "You've clearly gone insane... allow me to put you out of your misery." He said, Naruto gasping as he realized what was going to happen. "Now die Iruka!" Mizuki shouted as he prepared to throw the shuriken.

It all happened so quickly, Iruka barely had any time to see it, and Mizuki had no time to react to it. Naruto dashed at speeds greater than he showed before from his hiding spot, leaping up and kneeing Mizuki right in the chin, causing him to go flying backwards as the giant shuriken flew out of sight. Mizuki flipped around in the air, and skidded across the ground a little bit before coming to a stop, slowly clawing the ground as he stood up, giving a pissed off look to the object of his unlimited aggravation.

Naruto shoved the scroll onto the ground, his hand resting on top of it as he glared at Mizuki. "Don't you dare touch Iruka-sensei... or **I'll kill you!**"He shouted, the serious and enraged tone carried in his voice unlike anything Mizuki or Iruka heard from Naruto before. Mizuki, though, scoffed as he stood up.

"Please, you think a dead-last like you could possibly defeat me?" He asked, laughing loudly as Naruto's glare intensified.

"Bring it on." Naruto said, causing Mizuki to sneer at him. Naruto slowly formed a cross shaped seal, bringing it up to his face. "Whatever you send at me I'll return a thousand-fold." He said seriously, his chakra starting to flare up as he prepared the jutsu, any sign of exhaustion that marred him before now gone.

"Show what you have then fox boy!" Mizuki shouted as Naruto's chakra began spinning around him.

"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Naruto shouted as a large explosion of smoke surrounded the area. As the smoke was blown away by the night wind, it revealed the entire area to be filled with nothing but Naruto clones. Mizuki's eyes widened in shock and fear, as his confidence from earlier disappeared, his eyes looking for a method of escape. Meanwhile Iruka looked on in awe, a grin plastered on his own face.

'These aren't just any clones, they're solid clones... he learned such an amazing jutsu within the span of a few hours...' He thought, his grin widening as the clones of Naruto began cracking various bones in their body.

"If you aren't going to make the first move, then we will!" One clone shouted, as the rest of the clones began charging in, causing Mizuki to shout out in panic. Never before in Naruto's or Iruka's life had they heard a grown man scream bloody murder so loudly while he was being beaten to a pulp. A few minutes later, several popping sounds resounded in the area, Naruto having dispersed all of his clones once Mizuki was thoroughly beaten.

Naruto chuckled lightly, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin on his face. "Sorry Iruka-sensei, looks like I kind of overdid it there." He said, laughing a little more. Mizuki laid behind him, looking very mangled... it would be a while before he would be sent to jail, seeing as how he'd be in the hospital for weeks. Iruka, however, merely smiled at Naruto as he raised his hand, motioning for Naruto to come over.

"Naruto... come over here... I have something to give you." He said, causing Naruto to raise his eyebrows as he walked over. When he stood right in front of Iruka, Iruka smirked slightly. "Now, close your eyes and I'll give it to you." Iruka said as Naruto did as he was told, closing his eyes as he waited in anticipation for what Iruka had for him. It took a few minutes, Naruto slowly starting to feel the heat of the sun on his face as day rose, and after a while Naruto felt this cloth around his forehead.

"Okay, open your eyes." Iruka said, Naruto once again doing as he was told. When he did, there really wasn't much different about what he had seen when he first closed his eyes... except that Iruka's headband was missing... wait. "Congratulations, you graduate." Iruka said, Naruto's eyes widened in shock as he stared at his sensei. "And to celebrate I'm going to take you out to eat, my treat." Iruka said... as Naruto looked down to the ground, his body shook slightly as Iruka gave him a worried look...

"IRUKA-SENSEI!" Naruto shouted as he tackled Iruka, giving him a bear-hug as they both began laughing.

-- Hokage's Office --

Meanwhile, at his office, Sarutobi watched the scene with a small smile on his face. Though he was disappointed that Naruto had learned the truth about the Kyuubi being sealed into him, he was very happy to see that the boy was now handling it much better, and that he graduated. Mizuki would be punished for his crimes, that much was for sure, but for now, Sarutobi would just wait. He stopped using the crystal ball of his and sent a message that the scroll had been recovered, and for the shinobi to return to their normal duties, and then leaned back in his chair, taking a puff of his pipe.

He looked up to see the pictures of previous Hokage, his eyes resting on the Fourth's picture. "You've picked a fine young man Fourth... you would be proud if you saw him." He said, taking another blow of his pipe as he sighed, the chaos now over for now.

OMAKE (Yay for random ideas!)

If Mizuki knew who stole the scroll, he would've... should've told the Hokage about it... unless. Suddenly, the sounds of shuriken flying through the air met his ears, causing his eyes to widen considerably.

"Naruto, move!" Iruka shouted as he pushed Naruto away from him as suddenly several shuriken struck Iruka, some cutting into him, while others nailed him onto the side of the wooden shack. Naruto was probably the most confused he had been in his entire life, watching as Iruka was attacked by shuriken coming out of nowhere. Suddenly Mizuki appeared, two giant shuriken on his back, landing on top of a tree branch nearby.

Then, as if in response, a small 'bang' resounded, Mizuki falling to the ground with a small bleeding hole in the back of his head. Iruka and Naruto stared at him in shock as they looked up to see the man who now replaced Mizuki on the tree limb. He was an older man, looking about thirty years old, with shortish brown hair and a brown beard. A dark grey headband was ties tightly to his forehead, and a weird suit surrounding everything below his neck.

He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, while Naruto and Iruka merely stared at him. "... Who the hell are you?" Naruto asked slowly, Iruka nodding along with him. The man merely scoffed at them as he took a deep breath on the cancer stick, blowing out smoke as he exhaled.

"My name... is Solid Snake." Snake said, as suddenly, in the background, some sort of theme music began playing, causing Naruto and Iruka to look around confused. They looked back at him when the music ended, even more confused.

"So... what are you doing here?" They asked, causing Snake to once again scoff.

"I was here to kill that guy." He said, pointing at Mizuki. "You see, he's not your 'Mizuki-sensei' at all, his real name is Andrei Putin, a Russian spy who was sent to retrieve a Metal Gear that's hidden under your village. However, the Japanese captured him and brainwashed him, thinking it would cause him to think he was really a ninja, while really he didn't forget, and still tried to get the Metal Gear, but was stopped by the CIA when they found him and tried to kill him, he dodged them by becoming a ninja, killing them all mercilessly, but little did he know that his brother had joined the CIA, so he killed him too, when he figured that out he wanted revenge, so he plotted to steal the Forbidden Scroll of yours, and then go back to Russia in order to kill the leader, so that he could avenge his brothers death, but little did he know that the Chinese had been aware of this, and had told the Russians about it, and they asked America's president to send me to stop him, in exchange for any Metal Gears and Nuclear bombs they had, so I was sent here and, after a nasty encounter with my clone brother, Liquid Snake, I made it here, sneaking through the village, and then finding you all, and killing Mizuki." Snake said almost all at once, taking another puff of his cigarette, while Iruka and Naruto looked at him as if he were a crazed psycho.

"What?" They both asked, causing Snake to face vault. He stood back up, giving them both a glare.

"I just said it as plain as day, how could you not get it?!" He asked, before a ringing resounded in his ear. "Excuse me for a moment." He said as he bent over, putting his right finger to his left ear. The ringing rang for a few more times, before he secured the link. "Otacon, why the hell didn't you tell me these people were so stupid?" He shouted into the device, causing Iruka and Naruto to sweat drop.

"Now Snake, you can't blame them, after all, they are just primitive ninjas." Otacon answered, the device making it so that only Snake could hear him.

"Yeah, but still, these guys are total dip-shits, even Ocelot could outsmart them." Snake said, causing both Naruto and Iruka to glare at him.

"Just keep your cool Snake you can do this." Otacon said, as there was silence on the other side of the line. In the forest, Snake had several kunai sticking out of various parts of his body, while a frustrated Naruto and Iruka walked off.

"Good riddance." Naruto said, Iruka nodding in agreement.

"You said it." He replied, as they walked away. Meanwhile Otacon was starting to get seriously worried by the silence...

"Snake... Snake... SNAAAAAKE!"

... R&R


	14. Chapter 14

Naruto: Alone

Yo all, guess who. That's right, its Arganaut, and after a near brush with death over grades this nine weeks, I've finally managed to punch out a new chapter of Naruto: Alone. Now then, for the fans of my other stories that are still waiting for the next chapter to come out, please be patient, inspiration simply hit me for this story first. Now then, the last chapter was... I'll say, my least favorite.

And so, I'll begin by saying I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I could not deliver upon my promise of a different version of the cannon in the last chapter. I used every single brain cell I had to try and come up with one... sadly, I could not without going into something cliché (more cliché than cannon). But, then again... I suppose that's why I made so many pre-Genin chapters.

You'll see how each chapter from before will effect the future shortly, in fact, there'll be a reference to one past event that will provide a push towards the future in this chapter... however, this chapter will be a small 'filler'... depending on what you call filler. It is, of course, the Konohamaru chapter, and unlike my last story (Naruto: An Alternative Story) I will actually be typing out the new reaction between Konohamaru and Naruto.).

Hopefully, these chapters will more than make up for the last chapter, but before I can move onto this new chapter, I must get to my reviews!

Silver Warrior- Indeed, the team dynamics will be quite messed with... however, how they will be effected will be decided soon.

**Dragon Man 180**- Man, I don't know how you keep thinking of stuff like that, but it is a good ideas... ones that I have thought of ahead of time. And thanks for the compliment.

Zero- Thank you, but I will admit I was not always like this. If you read AAS, you'll see I was much like the fan-atics that I talk about. However, I have strived to get above that, and I have, and I think I've become a better author because of it.

Son of the morning- Yeah, Metal Gear Solid has a habit of doing just that to other people.

Psycho King- Agreed Psycho, agreed.

**VFSnake**- Dude, do calm down, I have plans, just wait and watch them work out.

MissNaye- No, don't worry about it, they'll get a new Snake to cover the old Snake's roll... LOL, that's the reason they have Old Snake and not Young Snake, I had him killed, ROTFLOL!

Chronostorm- Straight up man, straight up.

**FictionReader98**- Like I said earlier, I am rather disappointed in it as well FR98. But, I hope to make up for that fumble later on in the story.

**paintball-gamer**- Glad you enjoyed it man. And, about the Clone/Shadow Clone idea, I will probably do that at certain points, but given at this point he can only make one successful Clone, I'd say it won't be for a long time.

master of cheese graters- I would... but then I'd have nothing to point and laugh at whenever I put up a new chapter.

Lee - Lutheran - Dis- I think you'll enjoy what I have up my sleeve.

Gryphon Turboclaw- Well now, thanks for understanding Gryphon. I'm not too sure if you'll like this chapter or not, but I hope you will. I put a lot of thought into it, so I hope you understand it.

Well, this is the end of the reviews, and I have to say, I'm rather pleased this time around. There were very few useless reviews, and a lot that actually talked to me about the quality of my chapters. All I have to say is thanks, and I'll repay you all by putting out the latest chapter of Naruto: Alone!!!!

Chapter 14: Konohama-who?

--- Hokage's Tower --- Sarutobi's Office --- 6:00 A.M. ---

A deep sigh left Sarutobi's lips as he leaned his head onto his hand, tapping his desk in a somewhat impatient manner as he continued staring off into space, his pipe, surprisingly, forgotten to his right. He was joined by several other Jonin with a collective sigh, many of them just sitting around. Asuma Sarutobi, the Hokage's son, was just leaning up against one of the walls in the office, taking frequent drags of the cancer stick between his lips while occasionally glancing at Kurenai Yuhi, one of the new Jonin's to join the rank. He combed a hand through his hair, sighing again as he released some smoke from his lungs.

Kurenai Yuhi, the Jonin Asuma had been paying attention to, on the other hand, was just taking a look over herself, checking her fingernails, making sure her supplies were in place, and tightening her headband, to ensure it would stay in place. The woman would also glance over at the young Sarutobi, though it was far less frequent. Another Jonin in the room was Ebisu... well, no one actually knew his last name, mostly because he never bothered telling his last name.

Another occupant of the room was Iruka Umino, who was asleep on a chair at the moment, several documents on his lap, and who, as we all know, was Naruto's sensei back at the Academy. The reason why it is said 'was' is because Naruto no longer is an Academy Student, he is now a Genin, much like several other students back in his class. In fact, the current gathering of Jonin and Academy Chunin was for one reason, to begin placing 'special' Genin on their teams.

Now then, you're most likely wondering why such an important meeting was not taking place to begin with. Why were they all just sitting there, as if they had nothing better to do, especially when the meeting was supposed to take place an hour ago...

This is because there was a person missing from this gathering, a person who was needed if this meeting were to take place at all... a person whose record, when it comes to being on time for something that isn't a critical S-Ranked mission, is the worst in Konoha's history, next to, of course, Obito Uchiha's. Sarutobi yawned, honestly considering joining Iruka in taking a nap when all of a sudden the door slid open, a masked face popping forward as the only visible eye on the face turned into an upside-down 'U' shape. "Sorry I'm late, I met someone famous on the way here, and I just had to get an autograph, but they didn't have any paper, so I had to chop down a tree and..." He began, causing most of the room to groan in annoyance, causing Iruka to stir from his dream world.

"Save it Kakashi, we're really too tired for one of your lame excuses." Asuma said, taking one last puff on his cigarette before going to Sarutobi's desk to put it out in an ash tray before turning to face everyone, leaning back on his father's desk.

"Really Kakashi-san, I would had hoped that you would have at least made an attempt at an excuse this time, given how long you had to come up with one." Ebisu said, straightening his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. Kakashi, on the other hand, merely shrugged at their reaction, and pulled out a copy of his favorite book, Icha-Icha Paradise.

"Pervert..." was all Kurenai said as she looked over at the Hokage. "So, Hokage-sama, I understand we're here to organize some of the more special students into teams?" she asked in a respectful tone as she crossed her arms. Sarutobi nodded, getting his head off of his hand as he motioned for Iruka to bring some papers over. The contents of the papers were actually standard, detailed reports on every single student to have passed the Academy Genin Exam. The reports included the simplistic things such as skills in certain areas and age, to more detailed documentation like behavioral problems, personal history, and of course, lineage.

"Quite right Kurenai-san," Iruka said, beginning the little meeting as he stood up, bringing the documents over to the table, spreading them out to reveal nine of the many Academy Students that had graduated. "As I'm sure you all know, it is normally tradition for the council and the Hokage to work together to pair up teams." Iruka began, Sarutobi sighing as he looked at the names.

"However, the crop of candidates this year, there was quite a lot of cream, too much in fact to be trusted to just myself and the council, especially considering the fact that there are too many non-ninja houses." He said, looking up at the Jonin. "Kurenai, Asuma, Kakashi, you three are here because you are our most accomplished Jonin, who I consider capable of teaching these students." He said, before looking over at Ebisu. "Ebisu's simply here because I wanted to talk to him after our meeting... which was supposed to have been over a half an hour ago." He said, everyone sending an annoyed glance at Kakashi, which was not received, since said scarecrow had his head buried in his porn. Sarutobi looked over to Iruka, nodding at him to continue.

"Our 'special' students this year are quite spectacular. They include Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Naruto Uzumaki." He said, everyone raising their heads at the mention of Naruto's name, which caused the normally calm Ebisu to babble a little bit.

"Naruto Uzumaki, but I had heard he failed the Entrance Exam, how is he a Genin... and even in that case what makes him so 'special' that he deserve to be specially placed along with such talented Genin?" Ebisu asked, nearly beginning his rant anew, before, that is, the old Kage raised his hand, a gesture that made many stop in their speech, before looking back over at Iruka. The other three Jonin joined in looking at the Academy teacher, after all, they heard the same thing Ebisu had, that Naruto had failed.

Iruka flinched as all eyes went to him, but quickly recovered as he coughed into his fist. "This is true Ebisu-san, Naruto did indeed fail the Entrance Exam, however, extenuating circumstances have caused both the Hokage and I to deem him worthy of becoming a Genin." He said, Ebisu about ready to shout before Iruka continued. "After all, it isn't everyday someone manages to steal the Forbidden Scroll, learn a Jonin level technique, and then use it to defeat a Chunin turned traitor." Iruka said, causing Ebisu to flinch greatly, while the others' eyebrows rose so high they looked like they were to rip right off of their owner's face.

"So, Uzumaki's the one who beat Mizuki." Asuma said, clear shock apparent in his voice, which could only make Sarutobi chuckle, having not seen his son so flabbergasted in quite some time. Iruka nodded, a proud smile on his face as he began explaining.

"Yes, that's quite right, Naruto Uzumaki not only stole the scroll from Hokage-sama's office, but he learnt the Shadow Clone Jutsu within a few hours, and then went as far as defeating Mizuki." He said, scratching the bridge of his nose. "Because of this, I decided that allowing him to become a Genin would be the only proper thing to do," the Chunin said, looking around the room. "Any objections?"

There were none. All three of the regular Jonins only nodded. Not only were they too shocked to even come up with an argument, and even if they could, it was unlikely they'd want to get rid of Naruto in the first place. The second thing was that if Iruka said this in front of the Hokage, and he didn't try to stop him... then by the Hokage's will it would be done. Ebisu, however, was about to comment on the matter, before a glance from Sarutobi quickly shut him up.

With all in agreement, Sarutobi smiled as he looked over at the Academy teacher again. "Iruka, if you would show us the grades?" Iruka complied; nodding as he quickly flipped the pages in each of the students' files, showing their rankings, not only relative to each other, but to the entire class.

"Here they are Hokage-sama..." he said, looking them over with a small smile. "... At the top of the class in intelligence is definitely Sakura Haruno... however, her field abilities... well, they were somewhat sub-par." The Academy teacher then pointed to Sasuke's picture. "However, Sasuke Uchiha had the highest score in the field, and had a high enough grade in class work to overtake Sakura... making him the top in the class," Iruka said, quickly moving over the others.

"The others had perfectly good scores, easily placing them in the middle of the pack... as for Naruto Uzumaki…" he smiled as he thought of the blond. "It was damn close, but he made it to the second to last position in class... his grades dropped dangerously around the Massacre, but he was somehow able to stem the drop enough to keep him from falling all the way to the last position," Iruka said, causing the Hokage to inwardly sigh. He knew if Naruto was the dead last in the class, he would be forced together with the Uchiha boy... and that would not bode well, not with the rumors surrounding the Uchiha Massacre still flying around... even if Sasuke saw his brother do it...

Sarutobi shook his head, it didn't matter, it was over, it was all...

"Wait Hokage-sama." Ebisu suddenly said, causing everyone to look at him. Ebisu slowly walked over to the documents, pointing straight at the picture of Naruto. "You said he was second to last in the class... however, have you even considered who the student is who was placed last?" he asked, which caused Iruka to raise an eyebrow. Ebisu looked over the documents... sighing as he pointed to one of interest. "Shikamaru Nara" he stated, which caused most of the room to look straight at Ebisu.

"I don't understand, Hokage-sama," Iruka said simply, feeling all eyes centering around himself, Ebisu, and Sarutobi, the tension in the room building up. Sarutobi sighed as he took a deep breath on his pipe, allowing the smoke to slowly seep out as he shook his head.

"Iruka, as I'm sure you are aware, it is very rare that a team is formed whose techniques perform perfectly with one and the other, so perfect that the team is in almost complete sync. However, there was one team that I can remember that did have such skills. This team was made up of Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Choza Akimichi, the 'Ino-Shika-Cho'," he said, Iruka's eyes drilling into the old Kage's head. "In fact, when we found out those three had children at almost the exact same time, and were entering them into the Academy... it was hoped that we'd be able to place them together on a team. Now, with Shikamaru the last in the class, there's no way for us to complete that team... unless..." He began, before Iruka practically slammed his hand on the desk.

"What are you suggesting?" he asked, sounding surprised, surprised that he was hearing this from the Third. "Are you saying we should bump Shikamaru's grade just so that he can be placed with Ino and Choji?!" he shouted, causing Sarutobi to flinch as Asuma sighed.

"Well, no matter how much you don't like it kid, both Ebisu and D... Hokage-sama make a good point," The smoker commented, looking at the young, tan man. "If we so quickly throw away such a rare chance at re-creating one of the most successful ninja squads in Konoha's history, over, what can only be described as a miniature change in grades, besides the point, you said it yourself, Naruto's grades were barely above Shikamaru's, then we'd be making a huge mistake." He said, Iruka shaking his head.

"But Naruto worked hard, he doesn't deserve to be pushed down just because..." Iruka began, Kurenai now raising her head.

"Though I'd hate to deprive a student from a deserved rank... I think it would be best to make changes as well," The Genjutsu user added, Iruka now looking at her. "Besides... there is a logical reason for doing this. It could be put down as a small 'unofficial' penalty for failing in the first place. That way, we can change Naruto's grade within reason, and no one outside of this room will have to know about it, especially the council," Kurenai finished, shocking Ebisu, Iruka and Asuma with the way she articulated her speech. Kakashi merely looked on at his porn, trying to keep out of this absurd debacle. Sarutobi continued just staring at his desk.

Iruka, however, quickly shook the shock off, and nearly spoke again, before Ebisu interrupted him yet again. "I agree as well. That boy, though I would hate to see the possible conflict between a street vagabond and a clan elite... the opportunity to strengthen the Leaf ninja teams in the future, especially with such distasteful missing-nins like Orochimaru and Itachi Uchiha still running about, should be taken." The Elite Jonin quipped, everyone in the room flinching at the mention of those two names.

Sarutobi sighed as he looked up at Kakashi. "Hatake-san, what are your thoughts?" Sarutobi asked, causing Kakashi to sigh and close his book... having been reeled into the conversation. He put the porn into his kunai pouch, looking up at the ceiling, contemplating his thoughts before looking back down at the group.

"I can understand Iruka's argument, under any other circumstance I would wholeheartedly agree with him..." He said, sighing slightly. "However, what we've been presented is possibly the most unique situation to be presented to Konoha in its history," Kakashi said in a tone that demanded the complete and undivided attention of the listeners. "While you three kept on talking about the Shika-Ino-Cho side of this, I've been thinking more about Naruto, he's the container of the Kyuubi, something that shouldn't be looked up lightly."

"In retrospect, it would be best for Naruto to go with Sasuke, for the simple fact he'd most likely end up with me. After all, I asked for Sasuke to be on my team so I could train him... and since I'm the only other person in this village with the Sharingan, I don't think my request will be denied, correct Hokage-sama?" Kakashi quipped, while Sarutobi nodded in agreement. "If Naruto were to be teamed up with Sasuke by the dead last, top student tradition, he would come to me... and as the student of the Fourth... I think I'd be best qualified to handle Naruto. Of course," the Scarecrow began, "that's just my opinion." Kakashi ended, his eye curving up again as he retrieved Icha-Icha Paradise.

Everyone looked at Kakashi with a small degree of surprise... well, that was for most. Ebisu, on the other hand, was so disturbed it was not even funny. Even the Hokage was somewhat... well, shocked. None expected Kakashi to use such logic to not only explain how Naruto would come to his team, but why. "Kakashi..." Sarutobi said, the confusion evident in his voice, as Kakashi shrugged.

"I saw the kid... a long, long time ago, he has potential. He also has something that very few ninja are blessed to possess before beginning their careers. Instinct," he said, turning another page in his book. "The kid has the right stuff, it just needs to be better developed... besides, anyone who can tear my book right from my hand without me noticing right away has to be good." Kakashi said eloquently, before letting loose a perverted giggle, causing many in the room to sweat drop, wondering where the 'strong minded' Kakashi just went, and how he was replaced with the 'perverted' Kakashi so quickly. However, he did leave an imprint in all the other minds in the room.

"I'll think this over..." Sarutobi said simply as he gathered the documents together. "We'll continued this meeting later, when I've made a decision." Sarutobi said simply, waving his hand. "Would everyone except Ebisu leave at this time," the old shinobi said, the other ninjas nodding as they began filing out of the room, leaving Ebisu and the Hokage to discuss Konohamaru's progress throughout the last week... something that usually left Sarutobi with a small headache.

--- 7:00 P.M. --- Streets of Konoha ---

"Hey, Naruto, how was your day?" Iruka asked the young blond beside him as they walked down the relatively empty streets of Konoha. Naruto, his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner, just looked up to Iruka and shrugged. The reason the pair were so relaxed, despite the apparent threat of some loon running right up to Naruto and tackling him, thinking he may have stolen something, was two fold.

You see, Naruto over the years had established himself as a day-time thief, the pattern having engraved itself into the minds of many of Konoha's citizens. It was a habit for them to be more relaxed about a theft at night, for it had never happened before, even all the way back when Naruto first stole. The second reason was, of course, his ninja headband. If someone were to attack him without him having done something, then chances were, they'd end up in jail for a couple nights, the biased Uchihas who would let them off easy long gone.

"Ah, you know Iruka-sensei, a little of this, a little of that, a little of messing around with this kid named Konohamaru." He said, causing Iruka to snap his head towards Naruto so fast that people though he would get whiplash.

"Wh-wh-what?! You messed with the Honorable Grandson of Sandaime Hokage!" Iruka shouted, Naruto stepping back a bit. "Naruto, of all the stupid things I've ever heard you do, this is probably one of the worst. I mean, you can't just go off and start picking on someone like him! First off he's five or six years old, you can't do that to someone so much younger than yourself! Then there's the fact he's the grandson of the THIRD HOKAGE!" Iruka continued ranting on for several seconds, before Naruto held his hand up and stopped him.

"Iruka-sensei, pl-please listen to me for a second, there was more to it than that, I swear!" He said quickly, successfully deflating Iruka's rant for a moment.

"Alright Naruto, but I'd get to telling me about this, and quick, or else no barbeque for you!" Iruka shouted, knowing that teasing Naruto with meat was the best way to get him to hurry. Though Iruka did enjoy the barbequed meat served around Konoha, his favorite meal still was Ichiraku's Ramen. However, when Iruka tried to tell Naruto about it, or even get him to go there, he reacted somewhat violently... for whatever reason he didn't like ramen. But, that was besides the point, with the promise of a free meal of meat being taken away, Naruto quickly began spouting out the tale from the beginning of the day.

"Well you see Iruka-sensei, it's like this..."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--- 9:00 A.M. --- Hokage Monument ---

The sun had risen as the morning hours of Konoha, and the great star shone brilliantly upon an area of town known as the Hokage Monument, and entire mountainside that has the faces of the previous Kage's engraved upon them. On a building that was near the monuments, a young, new ninja recruit was sitting on a small stair, while an older man stood a ways off, a camera in front of him as he looked at the young man. "Alright, you ready?" The old man side, placing a slide into the camera as the young ninja, Naruto, nodded.

"Yeah, let's just get this over with already!" He said in a somewhat excited tone, posing for the camera while the sun made his golden hair shine. The cameraman shrugged, going under his veil and positioning the camera just right.

"Alright then. One, two, three... cheese!" He said, snapping the photo. The picture was actually pretty standard, from what the cameraman had seen before. Naruto had on his black shirt with the orange spiral on the back, with matching black pants going down to his ankles, where his ninja sandals were firmly secured. Naruto's smile in the picture was beaming; it reflected a sort of pride in finally becoming a ninja, and a small amount of relief as well. Around his forehead, keeping his spiked hair from falling onto his face was the object of his immense pride, his ninja forehead protector. Naruto's gloved hands were firmly placed around the metal plate of the headband, causing the metal to shine in a rather unusual, but still magnificent way.

At least, that's the way Sarutobi viewed the picture, the smile on the old man's face easily noticeable. He looked up from the form to look at Naruto, who sat on the other side of the room, the smile from the picture still on his face. Sarutobi could only smile again; it lightened the load that was placed on his shoulders from all those years ago to see Naruto so cheerful. Then again, considering what he told Naruto about the job all those years ago, he wasn't surprised the boy's outlook on life was temporarily lifted.

Sarutobi put the picture into Naruto's file, taking his pipe to his lips as he took a deep breath. "Naruto, I have to say, I had my doubts before... but you surpassed them." He said, causing Naruto to laugh a little.

"Of course I did old man, would you expect any less of me?" He said, his hands once again going to his headband. "I'm the Street Fox of Konoha, of course I'd be able to graduate, and do it well!" He said, leaning forward so that his shoulders rested on his knees. "So, when am I getting my first pay?!" He asked, a large grin on his face, which made Sarutobi laugh a little more.

"Not until your first mission Naruto... which should only be a few days away." He said in a tone that made Naruto beam even more. Sarutobi sat there for a few moments... before he heard the door slowly slide open. He knew Naruto had felt it too, as he quickly turned his head towards the door which had been flung open, revealing a small kid, a strange sort of headgear on top of his head with a tuff of hair just popping out of the back, and a large scarf around his neck.

"Old man, I challenge you!" He shouted as he ran forth, a shuriken firmly in his right hand. "I will beat you, and become the Fifth Hokage!" He shouted, as Naruto snapped into action.

"Not so fast kid!" Naruto shouted, dashing forward and grabbing Konohamaru by his wrist, and with magnificent skill, twisted it around, causing Konohamaru to flip around in the air, and land on his head, knocking him out. Naruto stood proudly, a huge grin on his face while Sarutobi applauded him...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"NARUTO!"

Iruka had grabbed Naruto by the ear, a firm twist causing Naruto to yelp a bit. "Come on Naruto, I know you a lot better than you think, and I know you're lying to me. So start telling me what really happened!" Iruka shouted, Naruto nodding quickly, yelping each time as it only caused his ear to twist around in Iruka's grip.

"Alright, alright, just let me go!" He shouted, the Academy teacher letting go of his former student's ear. "Alright... so here's what really happened..."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Old man, I challenge you!" He shouted as he ran forth, a shuriken firmly in his right hand. "I will beat you, and become the Fifth Hokage!" He shouted, before the child tripped over his own scarf, hitting the ground face first, the shuriken sliding all the way to the side of the room. Both Sarutobi and Naruto sweat dropped as they watched Konohamaru groaned, picking his head up off of the floor, rubbing his face lightly.

The Sandaime Hokage sighed as he looked over at his, clumsy, grandson. "Hello Konohamaru, nice to see you... again." Sarutobi said in a slightly exasperated tone, after all, this had been Konohamaru's third assassination attempt within the past hour. The sound of feet quickly moving across the floorboards outside in the hallway resonated soon after, Ebisu quickly making his appearance as he heard Konohamaru.

"Young Master!" Ebisu shouted in a concerned tone. He looked around quickly... before spotting Naruto on the other side of the room.

'So... this is the fox boy.' He said, sending Naruto a look that, though it did make him recoil a bit, it didn't cause him to lose his cool. This, in turn, caused Ebisu to raise an eyebrow. 'Then again, the boy has been on the streets for six years... his confidence in beating such mediocre challenges again and again would give him a small sense of security.' Ebisu thought to himself... before inwardly shaking off the thought. 'Don't you dare give him the honor of one of your evaluations.' He thought, before fast walking over to Konohamaru.

"Young Master, are you alright?" He asked, lowering himself to his knee as he helped Konohamaru to his feet. The young boy, with his pride bruised, looked around the room for some kind of scapegoat to his trip... and found one in the blond on the other side of the room.

"I'd be better if the whiskered guy hadn't tripped me!" He shouted, pointing over at Naruto while Ebisu sweat dropped. He disliked the boy... but he was pretty sure he couldn't reach over and trip Konohamaru from several feet away. Naruto's own stare narrowed a little bit, becoming skeptical.

"What are you talking about?" He said in an aggravated tone, standing up and walking over to Konohamaru. "I didn't do anything to you." He said, Konohamaru laughing a little as he puffed out his tiny chest.

"Maybe you're right, a wuss like you couldn't do anything to me!" He said in a boisterous tone, causing Naruto to become even more annoyed, as he quickly moved over to him, grabbed Konohamaru by the collar and picked him up a little bit.

"Say what!?" Naruto growled, while Konohamaru maintained his sneer. Ebisu, on the other hand, was near close to a heart attack.

"You let go of the Honorable Grandson right way you heathen! You cannot simply manhandle the grandson of the Third Hokage!" He shouted, which caused Naruto to look up at Ebisu with a bit of surprise... and mild disgruntlement, mostly because he wouldn't be able to...

"Ha! Thought so! I knew you wouldn't have the guts to hit..."

**BAM!**

Never mind.

Konohamaru, at that point, was on the floor, sitting on his butt, a large lump on his head which he gripped tightly, a pained groan being emitted from his lips as Naruto walked out of the room, his hands in his pockets. Ebisu looked on in terror, his mouth agape, as he tried to comprehend what had just happened. The one who was least surprised, by far, was Sarutobi, who simply sat at his seat, taking a deep breath on his pipe. Ebisu noticed this, and sent a somewhat confused look to Sarutobi.

"Hokage-sama, why would you allow this... Allow some brat to strike your own grandson!?" He shouted, causing the old man to shrug lightly.

"He seems fine to me." Sarutobi noted, pointing to where Konohamaru had sat. Now, the reason the words 'had sat', were used was because of the fact Konohamaru was no longer sitting there... in fact he was not even in the room at all. This caused Ebisu to panic yet again, this time his eyes appearing over his glasses.

"Wh-where did he go!?" He shouted yet again, causing Sarutobi to sigh.

"I believe he followed Naruto." He said, placing some extra chakra into his ears to prepare for...

"WHAT?!" What could've possibly been one of the loudest screams he had heard in his entire life. Ebisu shot out of that room with all the speed of a shuriken, and most likely the intent of one, as he shouted around for Konohamaru. Sarutobi, on the other hand, merely lit his pipe again, taking a few deep breaths.

"Might as well get back to the office and keep an eye on this situation." Sarutobi said, standing up slowly, walking over to get his cane. "After all, who knows what kind of trouble those two will get into on their own...?" The old Hokage noted, as he began walking towards the room's exit.

--- The Streets ---

Naruto walked down the wide-open streets of Konoha, his hands still in his pockets as the disgruntled look on his face remained. That little kid was a snob, and had a mouth bigger than, well, even his own. His nose curled up in distaste before he shook his head, trying to dispel all thoughts of that little kid. Though, the fact that there was a section of fence ahead... with its boards facing sideways... and a brown tuff of hair sticking out of the top, didn't help much.

He sighed as he walked right past, trying his best to ignore it, but it was just so stupid. Just the thought of that trick that saved his hide so many times being done so wrong just...

"Alright, you can come out now, that disguise is so fake." He said, turning around to face the section of wall. A few chuckles resounded, as the illusion clothe fell, revealing Konohamaru. "So I was right, you really are good." He said as he ran towards Naruto, tripping over his scarf again. Naruto sighed, turning around and preparing to leave again. "Wait!" Konohamaru shouted as he stood back up, running at Naruto till he was right behind him.

"I want you to train me!" He shouted, causing Naruto to freeze in place. That was something he had never heard before, nor had he expected to hear something like that. A little kid, and he meant little, asking the infamous Street Fox to train him? It sounded so ridiculous to Naruto, it wasn't even funny.

"Get lost." Naruto quipped, before walking again. Or, he tried to, before Konohamaru latched onto his leg.

"Come on Sensei, you can't just leave me hanging!" Konohamaru shouted, causing Naruto's eyebrows to raise.

'Sensei...' He thought to himself, crossing his arms as he thought about that word. 'Naruto-sensei... Street Fox-sensei... Naruto THE Street Fox-sensei... has a nice ring to it.' A cocky smile began forming on Naruto's lips, as his pride began souring. But... the kid was a snob... why would he want to help this kid. Then again... being a sensei would give him an excuse to punish the kid for his behavior. 'Oh what to do, what to do, what to do... what to do...' He thought to himself, before smirking lightly...

"Alright." He said, turning to face Konohamaru with the same smirk plastered on his face. "Sensei isn't just going to let you float there without some proper guidance... but you have to call me Naruto-sensei!" He added, Konohamaru hopping off of his leg with a huge grin on his face.

"Thank you Naruto-sensei!" He shouted, jumping up and down a few times in excitement, Naruto watching his excitement, and becoming somewhat infected by it himself... today was going to be a good day... for him at least. For Konohamaru, he wasn't too sure he'd enjoy what he had planned.

--------------------------------------------------------------

"And, then what happened?" Iruka asked, now genuinely intrigued by the story. So far, Naruto only lied on that one small part, which meant Konohamaru really did ask him to be his sensei.

"Well Iruka-sensei, my plan was to just put Konohamaru through hell, you know, just a little bit of payback for being such a pain..." He said, cracking his neck before coughing into his fist. "So... from there..."

Omake

It was a bright beautiful day at Konoha, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and... "Naruto, you're an idiot." Sasuke was calling Naruto an idiot. All of the Academy students were now pointing and laughing at Naruto, who merely stared at them all with a sullen look. Though, in his mind... he formed a comeback. A comeback so sinisterly annoying that it couldn't help but strike a nerve with Sasuke.

"Yeah, well..." He began as he pointed at Sasuke. "YOUR MOM!" Naruto shouted, causing the entire area to freeze with shock. Everyone looked at Sasuke, waiting for a response. They didn't get a comeback... instead they got.

"Mom..." He said in a soft, sad voice. "Mommy..." He said, tears beginning to well up in his eyes.

'Oh shit.' Naruto thought as he quickly tried to come up with a new idea. "Um... your dad?" He said in an uncertain tone...

"DADDY?!" Sasuke shouted, Naruto making another 'oh shit' face making its way to his face as Sasuke suddenly burst into tears, soaking everyone in the immediate area with his tears. Everyone in the immediate area glared at Naruto, who merely took a step back.

"... I'm just going to shut up now."

The morale of this story is... your mom jokes suck people, STOP USING THEM! For God's sake, I hear them nearly every other hour!

R&R


	15. Chapter 15

Naruto: Alone

Hello everyone, its me, Arganaut, and I'm here to present you with the latest chapter of Naruto: Alone. Alright, now I swore that I would not rant about the manga chapters again... but, come on, I just have to poke fun at Kishimoto at the most recent (392) chapter. I mean, poor Orochimaru, even if you were a bad guy, that was an awful way to fix a plot hole-no-jutsu. I mean, can you imagine:

Orochimaru: Hahahaha! At last, after my long, long vacation inside Sasuke-kun's body, I have returned to take over the wo- GAH (gets stabbed).

Itachi: Sigh

Come on, Orochimaru may be one of my least favorite characters, but that kind of end is just so... blah.

Also, on the issue of the chapters after that... who the hell is writing this manga, M. Night effing Shamalyan?

Also, I must apologize immensely for my... holy damn, five month absence. To explain this absence, I've added the following rant:

For those of you who don't know, just recently I got to go to a program called Boy State. If you don't know what this is, look it up, I really don't have the time to explain it.

Also, other things, school among them, have been keeping my rather busy. On top of that, my grandmother has had... problems in the last few months. Not anything major... but, let's just say back and forth trips to the hospital at least once a month, the rest of said month filled with her and her tiny-ass bell ringing my ass down the stairs every hour on the hour. Honestly, anyone here who knows what I'm talking about will tell you, you don't feel like doing anything on a day where you know as soon as you start something you're just going to be torn away from it.

Also, to add to my ever growing list of things to do, I've been reading Frankenstein for a class... yes, one of my teachers for the next school year has actually given me an assignment and work to work on over the summer... bummer. Also, my little brother's been a bit annoying when it comes to me driving him places. I've been driving his ass everywhere, from his girlfriend's house, to just about everywhere he could possibly ever want to go.

CAN I GO DIE NOW? Please?

With that minor episode out of the way, might as well get on with the reviews.

Miss Naye- Oh... just wait.

**Dragon Man 180-** How is it lame/funny at the same time, could you explain? You're going to love what I have planned for Naruto and Konohamaru. As for who's going to be the third member of Team Seven will be... I'm not telling you.

**paintball-gamer**- Haha, agreed pg, he would probably think Naruto far too stupid.

master of cheese graters- Oh Christ, those jokes are almost as bad as the 'your mom' jokes.

YamiKyuubi- LOL, too true.

Silver Warrior- Yeah, don't worry about that sir, Kakashi may be a bit of a slacker, but he's true to his word.

**Omegaguardian- **Hahaha, I have to admit, I haven't heard that joke before, so bravo. And as for the story, while its true I did stick heavily to the canon throughout these chapter, rest assured that I will be original... later in the story. How much later? Well, why spoil the surprise.

Psycho King- I think you mean diplomatic, and yes, it was quite good of him.

Blinkin- Thanks for noticing my entire pairing thing. I hate how stories will jump into the pairing stuff within the first few chapters. I prefer when its nice and slow.

**FictionReader98- **Glad you enjoyed this chapter, makes me happy to know you aren't as dissatisfied. Hahahaha, glad to know I surprised you with Shikamaru being the dead-last. I honestly didn't think it would be all that shocking, but if you're surprised then I did much better than I thought. As for most accomplished, think about it. Kakashi, the man who copied over one-thousand jutsus, is probably most skilled with Ninjutsu out of the three. Asuma, with his trench-knives and wind-manipulation skills being tailored to a close-combat style, he's probably the most accomplished Taijutsu user out of the three, and as for Kurenai, while she was a Jonin for a short time, she wouldn't have been given three clan children if she wasn't accomplished at something, which I think would've been Genjutsu.

Well, you have to understand their reasons for doing that, ya know? As for Team seven... you'll be surprised with the end of the chapter. And yes, it is hilarious that Naruto still hates ramen. And trust me, you have a lot of things to look forward to.

Shiyakashi- Sorry if this distracted you, but it is amazing to know that you enjoyed the story so much.

Gryphon Turboclaw- Wow... long, long, long, long review. Gryphon, I'll skip most of the beginning, seeing as how its an overview of the chapter (and I have to say, its quite a good one) and onto the section about Sakura. While the 'Number One' student Sasuke is on the team, which I admit would cast doubt on the reason why she would be on, she still did get on in the canon, and if you look at a majority of my works, cannon, though not the main focus, is a part of the backbone of logic. As for the rest of it, may I remind you of the continuing theme of this story? For every good thing that happens to Naruto, I specifically write the story so that its balanced out with a negative (until a later point in the story, not telling when). So, with the positive being Naruto becoming a ninja, the negative would be being placed on a team that would start off being very dysfunctional. So, while I'm not saying if I chose one option or the other, I will state that those would be my reasons for putting Sakura on Team 7.

tater06- Thank you for the review, nice to know you think so highly of my fic.

InARealPickle- Ummm... don't really know what to say... except

Laleiluleilo, laleiluleilo, laleiluleilo!

Well, with the reviews out of the way, I do believe its time to begin the next chapter of Naruto: Alone!

Chapter 15: Konohama-who? Part Two

_Last Time on Naruto: Alone!_

"_Alright," he said, turning to face Konohamaru with the same smirk plastered on his face. "Sensei isn't just going to let you float there without some proper guidance... but you have to call me Naruto-sensei!" he added, Konohamaru hopping off of his leg with a huge grin on his face._

"_Thank you Naruto-sensei!" He shouted, jumping up and down a few times in excitement, Naruto watching his excitement, and becoming somewhat infected by it himself... today was going to be a good day... for him at least. For Konohamaru, he wasn't too sure he'd enjoy what he had planned._

_"And, then what happened?" Iruka asked, now genuinely intrigued by the story. So far, Naruto only lied on that one small part, which meant Konohamaru really did ask him to be his sensei._

_"Well Iruka-sensei, my plan was to just put Konohamaru through hell, you know, just a little bit of payback for being such a pain..." He said, cracking his neck before coughing into his fist. "So... from there..."_

_And Now, for Our Featured Presentation_

- Naruto's Flashback - Streets of Konoha -

It was what could only be called one of the most entertaining times of Naruto's young life. He was running down the streets, passing by the citizens on the street, most of who were staring at him in confusion. He wasn't stealing anything, and with his ninja status, he wasn't supposed to be too afraid of one of them attacking him. So why would he be running at such a quick rate? The answer came to them in the form of Konohamaru, wheezing, huffing, and puffing, as he chased after the blond down the street, trying to keep up the pace his new "sensei".

And failing miserably.

About fifteen minutes ago, when the young Uzumaki allowed Konohamaru to 'be his student', Naruto immediately began their training. The first exercise? Well, if you hadn't guessed, the first part of the 'training' was to chase the Genin, who would be running as fast as he could. Why? Well, if you're going to be as good as him then you'll need to be as fast as him... well, that was the logic Naruto used, at least. The real reason was that the manipulative fox-boy wanted to see if, after running long enough, the kid would throw up.

Playing into Naruto's fiendish hands, Konohamaru accepted the Street Fox's training, thinking that he would easily be able to keep up with the Genin... and boy was he wrong! For the first five minutes, the Honorable Grandson managed to keep up a nice pace, staying at about thirty feet from Naruto, which was rather surprising when you compared it to others who had tried the same. After the ten minute mark, the 'student's' stamina began failing on him, not quite yet used to chasing someone at full speed. Fifteen minutes, and the gullible boy was reduced to the pathetic state we see now, which of course tickled Naruto beyond belief.

There had been those who tried to stop Naruto and Konohamaru, trying to keep the 'bully of a thief' from punishing the 'poor, poor Honorable Grandson'. However, whenever they would try to intervene, Konohamaru would, though in a strained tone, almost as if his words were coming from his nasal cavity instead of his mouth, shout at anyone and everyone who tried to stop them, telling them to back off, or else... the imaginative parts of the brains of those threatened easily filled in the gap, prompting them to do as Konohamaru said. So, here they are now, Naruto several feet ahead, Konohamaru trailing severely behind, and everyone on the road just staring at the two.

"Come on, you slowpoke! You're never going to be as good as me if you don't hurry up!" Naruto shouted back to the not-so-Honorable Grandson, who cursed under his breath, as both of them kept right on moving. Little did Konohamaru know that he was playing puppet for the Street Fox's clever and quick hands. Naruto wanted them both to run till they reached the forests outside of Konoha, so that they would have some privacy for the other forms of torturous training the Genin would put the young child through. The crafty neophyte Genin snickered to himself as the streets emptied themselves of civilization, allowing more and more plants to fill the gaps. Eventually, there were no buildings or roads around. Naruto, knowing that privacy would be needed for the next step of his entertainment, decided that he and Konohamaru would be going to another piece of his turf. That turf was, of course, the forest.

Naruto leapt into the middle of a clearing, a couple of vending machines nearby for the mastermind to take drinks from should he get too thirsty.

As Naruto noticed this rather small detail, that thoroughly exhausted student of his stumbled into the clearing, quickly falling to the ground and rolling onto his back, taking in very deep breaths due to his fatigue. The Street Fox shook his head, walking up beside Konohamaru with a small smirk. "Come on," Naruto said as he began tapping the boy's head with his foot. "Get up, you lazy piece of crap. You're training under me now, and there are no breaks till I say there are." This last barb pierced right into the 'Honorable' Grandson's pride.

"Don't call me a piece of crap..." The young boy growled as he climbed steadily to his feet, Naruto placing his foot onto the younger one's head.

"Now, now, what was rule 3 of being my student...?" the blond asked in an aristocratic voice, one he obtained from the multiple run-ins with people who he claimed to have their 'heads shoved up their own ass', which caused Konohamaru to sneer.

"...Rule 3 says that 'no matter what, my sensei, Naruto Uzumaki, the great and powerful Street Fox, shall be allowed to call me whatever name he decides to, whether that word be a normal insult or a curse word,'" the irate pupil recited almost perfectly. Naruto smiled as he took his foot off of Konohamaru's head.

"Good, you can actually memorize rules. Hopefully you'll be able to remember these powerful exercises I'll be putting you through." Talking down to Konohamaru in this manner both annoyed the young boy and filled the Genin with a tickle.

"Very good, Konohamaru, now we can get to work with the workout!" Naruto shouted again as he pointed to a tree. "Now then, let's start with five hundred chin-ups on that branch!" At that shout, the Hokage's grandson did a double-take, nearly causing himself whiplash.

"Wha-what-wha-what?" the amazed boy stammered with a stupefied look. "Damn, what are you thinking?" the young Sarutobi loudly complained as Naruto suddenly picked him up by the collar and threw him up to the tree branch. Konohamaru barely managed to grab hold of the branch looking down in a somewhat frightened manner as he was now at least fifteen feet from the safe ground..

"Don't worry, I'll join you in a second," the blond "sensei" said while walking to an area behind a nearby tree. There was a series of loud coughs, then the sound of someone clearing his throat out. The Street Fox returned moments afterwards, cracking his neck as he jumped up onto the branch. "Well, let's get going." Even as he began doing pull-ups, Konohamaru could only choke back a large lump in his throat as he too began working out.

Meanwhile, behind the tree, where Konohamaru couldn't see, yet another Naruto was smirking as he sat against the tree with his eyes closed, small wisps of smoke clearing away. "He-he-he... while my Shadow Clone works on that, I'm going to get some 'Z's…" the devious fox-boy said, stifling a small yawn as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

"You fell asleep? Then let a Shadow Clone decide what to do with him?" Iruka shouted at his previous student, just mere seconds away from choking the young Uzumaki.

"Hey hey hey, Iruka-sensei, don't worry, the Shadow Clone didn't treat him badly..." the young ninja said... a skeptic glare coming from the older ninja. "Well... he didn't treat him too badly... I mean, there was just twenty laps around the clearing... projectile practice... practicing dodging them that is... then there was..."

"DOING A HAND-STAND FOR A HALF-HOUR! DOING FIVE-HUNDRED SQUATS? WHAT KIND OF WORKOUT SCHEDULE DO YOU RUN?" The run-ragged 'student' shouted, his body laying flat on the ground while the Shadow Clone Naruto, though extremely exhausted, smirked at the young man he had basically tortured.

"A tough one," the clone returned in a snarky tone, prompting Konohamaru to lunge towards his ankles (he couldn't reach anything else from the ground) and bite down with extreme force upon the appendage. The clone screamed out in pain, before disappearing instantly. Konohamaru blanked out as he heard a yawn, and saw Naruto coming out from behind the tree, scratching the back of his head as he tried to wake up. "Jeez, you have to scream?" he asked, the young student immediately returning to his outraged state.

"WHAT THE? YOU JERK!"

Konohamaru shouted, his voice ringing out... which did give a lock onto their location to a certain Jounin who was looking for that voice. Naruto, in the meantime, just shook his head.

"Did you honestly think that I was going to tire myself out with all that work, especially with the next part of the training?" he said, getting the angered boy to calm down... well, calming down was the wrong way to describe it; panic merely overtook his ability to complain.

"Ne-next part?" the Honorable Grandson asked, his 'teacher' merely smirking as he pointed to himself with his thumb.

"That's right, kid, the next part of the training is actually pretty simple..." he said as he cracked his neck. "You're going to run at me with everything you've got and try to hit me in any way, anywhere. If you do, we'll take a break... hell, I'll even get you a drink," the Genin said as he pointed to the vending machines close by. "If you can't, we're going to keep on working." Konohamaru glared at him with exhausted eyes, slowly climbing to his tired feet.

"I'm going... to kick... your... butt..." the boy said with determination, despite his exhausted state. Konohamaru raised his right hand, pulling it back and turning it into a fist. "Charge!" Uttering that battle cry, the Hokage's grandson began rushing towards Naruto, his legs wobbling beneath him as he stumbled every now and again.

The 'great and powerful' sensei merely smirked as he sidestepped his student's blow, causing the boy to fall behind him. Naruto then turned back to face the fallen child, suddenly feeling very sorry for the boy. "Hey, you know what, you tried hard... how's about I give you that break anyway?" he said, Konohamaru's eyes shining as he...

**BAM**

"Naruto! I've already told you once, lie and there's no beef!" Iruka said, snaking the bowel of beef away from his former student, who now sported a large, throbbing lump on top of his cranium. Naruto shook his head and tried giving Iruka the puppy dog eyes... but then immediately backed off as Iruka brought one of the pieces of beef to his mouth.

"Alright, alright! The truth, the truth, I get it..." he said hurriedly, his face red from embarrassment. "Well, the truth is…."

"I'm going... to kick... your... butt..." the boy said with determination despite his exhausted state, Konohamaru raised his right hand, pulling it back and turning into a fist. "Charge!" Uttering that battle cry, the Hokage's grandson began rushing towards Naruto, his legs wobbling beneath him as he stumbled every now and again. However, one stumble was one too many, and the wobbly boy began falling to the ground, the trained Genin beginning to laugh loudly at the unexpected action. However, because of the laughing boy's action, he was left unable to see the younger boy's sandal fly off his foot... straight towards Naruto's face.

Naruto's eyes opened up and saw the shoe, but at that point it was far too late for his overwhelmed self

to react, especially since the idiot was still laughing at the expense of Konohamaru. Everything slowed down as Naruto's eyes widened, shaking his head side to side as he yelled out "Noooo!" in futility. Uzumaki tried to protect his face, but despite the effort, the shoe projectile rammed into his face, causing the boy to fall backwards, similar to the way his 'pupil' fell. "Ow..." he moaned as he rubbed his face. Konohamaru watched him with an astounded look on his face... before he too began laughing wildly, pointing straight at the ninja with a scarred pride.

"HA! LOSER! I got you! I hit you, so now I get a break!" the young one shouted as he continued laughing. Naruto glared at him as he tried to come up with some sort of excuse not to let this happen... but, in a begrudging manner, he relented. "-sigh- Fine. Crawl over to the vending machines..." the temporarily beaten puppet-master said as he began walking over, his gullible puppet continuing to smirk as he moved inch by inch towards the vending machine area...

"SHUT THE HELL UP, IRUKA-SENSEI! JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!" Naruto shouted at his sensei, which was currently so filled with mirth that he was pounding his fist on the table, laughing so hard that everyone in the room thought he would have at least a sixty-percent chance of busting a gut.

"No, no... this is too good!" he shouted as he looked up at Naruto through the tears in his eyes. "Naruto Uzumaki, who has prided himself as the Street Fox, a hated thief whose greatest claim to fame was his amazing agility and speed... and yet, despite this... you got hit square in the face with an child's sandal... and, as if that weren't enough, that wasn't even the intended attack!" Iruka put his face down onto the table once again after that statement as he continued to laugh. The fox boy's eyes were now twitching at his former sensei's behavior. "Man, Naruto, you've had some lows before, but this is just a whole other level."

"DO YOU WANT TO HEAR THE REST OF THE STORY OR NOT?" The irritated pre-teen shouted, his sensei straightening up as his laughter reduced itself to chuckles, and from there mere snickers, until it was all gone.

"Okay, okay, I'm listening..." he said as the current story teller sighed, beginning his story anew.

"Jackass," Naruto muttered under his breath before continuing.

Konohamaru sat on the log in front of the vending machines, still smiling in a cheeky manner as Naruto fiddled around with the troublesome devices. "Hey sensei, what's taking so long?" the overconfident boy asked in a voice laced with sarcasm, while his befuddled sensei merely shot back a glare.

"Shut up, brat..." he growled as he pounded the machine once more, causing two cans of soda to fall out. The expert thief grabbed both sodas, throwing one over to Konohamaru, who caught it... but groaned, as the metal hitting his hand hurt it a little bit, which, in turn, earned a shake of the head from Naruto. "Come on, did it really hurt that bad?" he asked in a bemused tone as he sat down beside the easily hurt pupil, popping open his can of soda and taking a drink from it.

"Hey, I just got down from basically getting my butt handed to me by your training. Give me a break," Konohamaru whined somewhat as he popped open the top. Naruto shook his head. He really didn't like whiners... but, given the kid had actually worked so much, and under the worst possible circumstances he could provide... and given that the boy was probably never forced to work so hard in his life, the Street Fox could cut him a small bit of slack.

"Alright, alright, just don't whine like that, it makes you sound like a wimp," the Genin stated simply as he took a drink from the soda. The honorable grandson was actually quite surprised to hear Naruto actually speak those words within the same sentence, not so much the 'wimp' part, but the 'alright, alright' part. The boy-student smiled a little as he continued to take a few drinks of the beverage. After a few moments of silence, 'Naruto-sensei' fidgeted a bit. He was used to silence, yes, but that was normally just when he was alone. When other people were around, for one reason or another, it just annoyed the hell out of him. "So, kid," he began, thinking of a question that had been irking his mind the entire time. "What's your deal with wanting to beat the old man?"

Konohamaru seemed a little stunned at first, but then sighed as he looked down. "It's just… the old ma... my grandpa is the Hokage of the village. So no matter what I do, when I walk past someone, they always call me 'Honorable Grandson', or if you're Ebisu, 'Young Master'... they never call me by my name," the Honorable Grandson said as he took a drink of soda. "I keep trying to beat gramps because if I do, then everyone will know who I am, and they'll call me by my real name," the boy finished as he took another drink.

Uzumaki was just about ready to laugh his ass off and just try to fix Konohamaru up with another training exercise... when he really thought about what he said. 'Wanting to be called by your own name...' Naruto thought to himself as he looked up at the sky. '...How many times a day do people honestly just call me Naruto?' the Street Fox thought again, as his mind began fading away from the forest, and into its deeper sanctuary. When he thought of the answer to the question, the Genin inwardly sighed as his mind finally realized how rare of an occasion it was. Naruto was either called fox-boy or Street Fox... rarely did people even call him 'boy', or 'kid'. That facet of his existence, Street Fox, had basically overshadowed him... Naruto...

Naruto continued to think about what Konohamaru had said, thinking so deeply that he appeared to just phase away from the real world, his eyes becoming glazed as he remained silent. The Honorable Grandson beside him became confused by the lack of noise coming from the normally word-filled Genin. Konohamaru tapped the side of the dazed boy's head, immediately reminding the young blond that there was a very real world that he wasn't paying attention to.

Naruto looked down at the youngster and shook his head, continuing to laugh. "Come on, kid, you think that's a big deal?" he asked, placing his feet on the ground to stand up and shake his head. "Look, there are going to be a lot of things and people who overshadow you your entire life. It's just common sense." The temporary sensei then looked back at Konohamaru. "The trick is not to try to take the expedient way out of it. You have to be willing to do whatever it takes, and work as hard as you can, for as long as it takes, before you can really become your own person, and before people truly recognize you as Konohamaru," The Street Fox lectured, laughing as he shook his head. "Besides, even if you beat up the old man, people wouldn't call you Konohamaru, they'd just start calling you 'Dishonorable Grandson' or 'the little bastard who beat up his own grandpa'," he said with another laugh, the young child looking at the Genin in a somewhat stunned tone before smiling.

"Yes sir, Naruto-sensei!" Konohamaru shouted in an excited tone... before practically collapsing again. "Just... can I wait till tomorrow?" he asked, getting a good chuckle out of Naruto as he nodded.

"Yeah, whatever, Konohamaru," he said in a dismissive tone as he threw his drink can into the nearby trashcan.

"Aw, Naruto," Iruka said with a small laugh, Naruto scratching his cheek sheepishly as the Chunin did so. "Who would've thought you could actually give good advice to a small kid that wouldn't corrupt him?" Iruka said with a small laugh... which caused Naruto to sweat drop. Iruka noticed this and immediately raised an eyebrow. "Naruto... what did you do?"

"I swear, it wasn't my fault Iruka-sensei, I had to do it!" The young boy shouted as he placed his hands palm-down onto the table and bowed his head, which increased Iruka's worry.

"What happened, Naruto..." Iruka said simply as Naruto looked up with an apprehensive look on his face.

"THERE YOU ARE!" A loud shout resonated inside the clearing as the two youngsters turned around to see a certain irate Jonin, Ebisu. Said Jonin looked straight at the two boys through his glasses, and though you couldn't really tell because of the glasses, you could feel him glaring at Naruto with the blazing heat of a thousand suns. Naruto flinched at first under the gaze of Ebisu but then quickly stood strong again. Konohamaru, on the other hand, kept on gazing at his former sensei with a very annoyed look, knowing that the somewhat annoying Jonin wouldn't dare lay a hand on him.

"What are you doing here, Young Master? This boy will corrupt and destroy every little bit of knowledge and ability I have given you!" Ebisu said, a little more calmly than his previous statement, as he jumped down from the tree and easily landed on his feet. "You must quickly come with me, lest you be further soiled by the Street Fox's presence," the Jonin said in his usual 'holier-than-thou' tone, the Honorable Grandson defiantly shaking his head no.

"Go away, Ebisu! Naruto-sensei has been training me, and I bet I can beat you now!" Konohamaru said as he began running forward. "Time to jump into action!" He said in a confident tone, before Ebisu immediately disappeared, reappearing behind the young boy, and lifting him up by his cape. "... Well, darn it..." the clearly embarrassed boy said in a disappointed tone as Ebisu shook his head.

"You see? That boy has not helped you, the only thing he has trained you in is swearing." Naruto's left eyebrow twitched. "He is the street punk of Konoha, and Young Master, if you try and learn from him, you'll NEVER become Hokage."

The Jonin continued, Uzumaki's expression becoming even more annoyed. "Now, let us get out of here before the filth gets all over the both of us," Ebisu said. Suddenly there was a large explosion of smoke beside both him and Konohamaru.

The arguing pair looked over to the side, only to have their sight filled with Naruto and his dozens of Shadow Clones. Konohamaru's jaw dropped, as Ebisu's eyebrow merely raised a bit. "You know, I'm standing right here... so why don't you try and say all of that right in my face, you bastard," one of the clones said as the rest nodded in agreement, all bending down into a taijutsu stance of sorts.

'What is this?' Ebisu thought as a small smirk formed on his face. 'The fox boy wishes to fight? Well, I don't see the harm in putting him in his place.' the pompous Jonin thought again as he put Konohamaru down and began walking amidst the clones.

"Foolish boy. I'm a Jonin, an elite ninja. Do you really think you can possibly defeat me?" Ebisu said as he walked right into the middle of the clone groups, annoying and worrying Naruto at the same time.

'Pig-headed jerk... he's just walking right into the middle of all of us as if he had nothing to worry about... jackass!' Naruto thought as he and his clones got out some kunai.

"You sound rather confident for some asshole who's about to get kicked all through this clearing," the Genin said in a clearly angry voice as he stared Ebisu down, the older man getting into a more composed Taijutsu stance.

"Well, I wouldn't say I am worried, fox-boy. After all, what do I have to worry about from the scum at the bottom of the barrel?" he said with a smirk, causing Naruto to become further agitated.

"Whatever! I'm so gonna kick your ass!" one clone shouted as he rushed Ebisu, bringing his kunai back, ready to lunge at Ebisu and stab the cocky bastard. Unfortunately, it didn't quite happen like that. Ebisu merely sighed as he ducked down, swept the clone's feet out from under him and slammed his foot into the vulnerable clone's stomach, causing him to instantly disappear.

All Naruto's froze, a shocked expression on their faces as they stared at Ebisu. "What the hell? Just rushing a guy worked with that bastard Mizuki!" one Naruto shouted, clearly amazed, while Ebisu merely chuckled.

"Like I said, I am a Jonin. I'm far superior to that hack Mizuki," Ebisu said as he stood straight up again. "Now, can we please move this along? I have to get the Young Master back to Hokage-sama, and I don't feel like playing this game for too long." This prompted all of the Narutos to try and jump Ebisu.

"I'm going to kick your pompous ass!" the clone army shouted as they rushed Ebisu... with limited success. Ebisu's taijutsu was as graceful as it was effective. Every time he would throw a strike at one clone, he would carry the momentum of that attack over to another clone. In one instance, Ebisu threw a punch, striking one clone square in the jaw, then allowed his punch's arc to continue, forcing him forward to dodge a stab from a clone behind him, then, in an arc, brought his leg up and out, kicking the attacking Naruto in the chin. After that, he forced the other leg into the air, allowing his momentum to spin him in mid-air, which not only allowed him to dodge a sweep from another Naruto, but also allowed him to, afterwards, slam that Naruto in the head with his heel.

The fight was going nowhere fast, and despite how much Naruto tried to ignore the facts, he began to realize this. Ebisu, however, was taking some well calculated notes of his own. 'So... the Achilles' Heel of the legendary Street Fox,' Ebisu thought as he took out another Naruto clone. 'No wonder he always tried to outrun or outfox whoever chased him... it wasn't that he never felt like confronting them directly... it's that he knew that if he did, he'd just end up embarrassing himself... kind of like he is now,' Ebisu thought with a chuckle, taking out another three clones. 'The traitorous Itachi was correct in his evaluation... the Street Fox barely has any taijutsu skill at all,' the Jonin continued in his head, as only three Naruto clones were left.

"Oh. Is this fight nearly over already? I haven't even broken a sweat," Ebisu said in his normally overconfident tone, the Narutos and Konohamaru all swallowing a small lump forming in their throats as one of the Narutos cleared some sweat from his forehead.

'Damn it... I just can't get at this guy... no matter what I try to do... I can't hit him directly...' the Genin thought as he cracked his neck. 'Might as well try to trick him...' he thought as his mind returned to a calmer pattern of thought. With merely a wordless glance between the three of them, two of the Narutos rushed forward, one with a regular kunai, the other carrying a kunai... with an explosive note wrapped around the handle. The first clone threw the kunai at the ground around Ebisu's feet, immediately raising the Jonin's eyebrows.

'Hmmm... his basic ideas are steadfast... with his famed mobility and agility, he's hoping that by my being in the air, he'll have an opening for a strike. Alright, I'll oblige him,' Ebisu thought as he once again readjusted his glasses and leaped into the air, the explosive note exploding just a few seconds afterwards. Ebisu looked down to see the clone who threw the kunai jumping up towards him, his fist reared back. The Jonin shook his head as he made a familiar cross-shaped seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he shouted as a clone formed underneath him, just in time for both to see another Naruto leaping up towards them from behind the second.

The pompous teacher merely used his clone as a platform to leap towards the two Narutos, both clone beings looking at him in complete surprise as Ebisu kicked the first clone in the chin, sending him back into the second clone. Then, with a quick spin, he struck the two-clone mid-air pile, sending them rocketing towards the Naruto who had thought he'd be relatively safe from the fray... big mistake.

Ebisu landed on the ground, relatively unharmed, while the three Naruto's skipped across the ground a few times before grinding to a screeching halt. The three disappeared into a cloud of smoke, revealing just one Naruto. Ebisu smirked as he scratched his nose. 'That's it, that's the mystery of the Street Fox. He isn't some super-human freak of nature capable of beating down Chunin and Jonin, but doesn't because he's 'just' and a 'good thief'... it's because he can't,' Ebisu thought as he walked towards Naruto. 'The boy behind the myth is just that, a boy. A child whose only good skills are running and hiding.' The pride-stricken Jonin only continued to laugh out loud again... he couldn't wait to tell everyone in Konoha...

The Genin, on the other hand, was just then getting up, cracking his back a bit as he tried to regain some composure. Naruto stared straight ahead as he tried to formulate a new plan. The Jonin he was facing was tough... probably because this was really the first serious Taijutsu match up he'd have, the primary goal of which wouldn't be to run as soon as he could. Naruto ground his teeth together to the point where they hurt as he found himself without any weapons. "Damn it!" he cursed under his breath as he looked at Ebisu. He really didn't want to try to get in close, but he had to steal some kunai or shuriken off of him.

So, in a mad dash, Naruto charged towards the Elite Jonin. He once again created the cross seal and created three clones, the Jonin merely shaking his head as he watched them approach. "You must be as stupid as your grades suggest. If attacks like these didn't work the first two times, why would they work the third?" he asked in a cynical tone while he cracked his neck.

One Naruto leapt at Ebisu, his hand reaching out towards Ebisu's kunai pouch... this clone was promptly and quickly back-handed out from in front of Ebisu, causing the clone to promptly explode in a cloud of smoke. The second clone lowered his body, hoping that he would be able to sneak right up under Ebisu and make a grab. Unfortunately, this led to the quite unpleasant experience of being punted by the Jonin, disappearing moments after his chin made contact with the toe of Ebisu's sandal.

The real Naruto smirked. This was it. The dumbass's punt had left his lower-half completely open. He could easily sneak in and reach into the pouch on his leg, especially since it was the leg he punted with, no less! Naruto channeled chakra into his legs to enable him a burst of speed, dashing right under Ebisu and reaching up into the pouch, grabbing the first solid object he could get a hold of. Ebisu, shocked by this occurrence, quickly swung himself around, deftly punching Naruto in the jaw and sending him flying several feet away... though not without having gotten a strong hold of something.

"AH-HA!" Naruto shouted in triumph as he stood back up. "I GOT SOMETHING! I GOT SOMETHING FROM YOUR POUCH! I GOT…!" he shouted as he finally lifted his right hand up. Though he hoped to see a kunai grasped firmly in his hand, the only thing he managed to grab was a book. "GOD DAMN IT!" Naruto shouted in agitation as Ebisu stared at the book for a few moments, sweat dropping as he began thinking.

'Oh dear God no... it couldn't be...' The thought rang out in his head like an alarm as he began checking his pouch. Naruto looked at the title of the book, and immediately recognized it as the book he stole, then returned, to the one-eyed Jonin who chased him all those years ago, the one about the shapes.

"Oh hey, Icha-Icha Paradise. I remember this," Naruto said as he opened the book, not only confirming Ebisu's worse fears, but also inducing in the Jonin a level of panic that far exceeded the level a fire-style jutsu aimed straight for his head could create.

"G-give that book back! You cannot read it! It's not meant for children your age!" he shouted with a fiery blush. Naruto stared at him in an annoyed manner as he flipped through a few pages, not reading any.

"First off, I'm not a child. Secondly, it's just a book about shapes, what could possibly be ba..." Naruto began as he stared, actually reading the book... the look in his eyes could only indicate the feelings of pure disgust and distraught anger. "OH MY GOD! WHAT THE HELL!" Naruto shouted as he tried to pry his eyes from the pages, but could not find the strength as he continued reading. "What the hell do you read, man?" he asked in shock and stomach-turning disgust, Ebisu's blush merely increasing in volume and darkness as he shook his head.

"I-I told you not to read that, you little brat! Now give me that back!" he shouted as Naruto nearly went crazy.

"Why would you want this back, you pervert? I mean, for the love of God, he's touching her vagi-" the sickened Genin began before the embarrassed Jonin interrupted.

"NO! NOT IN FRONT OF THE YOUNG MASTER!" Ebisu shouted as Konohamaru merely tilted his head to the side out of curiosity.

Naruto stopped. He just stopped. He stopped shouting, he stopped reading... he just stopped. He looked at the book, then he looked at Ebisu, then he looked at Konohamaru. He looked between the three for several seconds before the gears in his head began moving. A smirk began growing on Naruto's face; first small, but then progressively began growing till it threatened to tear right off his face. The smirk made Ebisu feel amazingly nervous.

'Just what is he planning?' he asked himself as Naruto quickly created a cross seal again, creating four other clones, all four of them grinning madly just like the original. The original Naruto cleared his throat before smirking.

"Icha-Icha Paradise, passages read to you by the Naruto 5 in surround-sound!" Naruto shouted as he and his clones quickly flipped to various pages in the book, Ebisu quickly regaining his blush as one Naruto found a rather embarrassing passage. "'Do you love me?' she asked as he positioned himself at the entrance to her flowering womanhood," he read from the book, making the perverted Jonin's jaw drop.

"STOP! YOU'RE CORRUPTING HIS VIRGIN MIND!" Ebisu shouted, referring to Konohamaru, who had absolutely no idea what Naruto just said.

"Virgin, huh? Going to need to be less subtle then," one clone stated, completely ignoring the fact that Naruto himself was a virgin as he stopped at a page. "'I'll lift that useless virginity off of your shoulders,' he said as he began groping her chest, sliding his tongue past her lips," the clone read as this time Konohamaru knew what he was talking about, but was puzzled as to why someone would commit such actions. Ebisu, on the other hand, was flipping out.

"STOP, YOU DIRTY, DEMENTED BOY!" Ebisu shouted, trying to scream over the five Narutos, who continued to read passages from the smut. The original Naruto smirked as he flipped the pages... and stopped upon finding… a very, very, very interesting page.

"Page 100," Naruto stated out loud, figuring that a page with this must disgusting, graphic material would surely leave a dent in anyone's mind.

It did.

Ebisu's face turned about as red as a sunset as he heard the page number, his jaw dropping to the ground as his mind turned off for a second. 'He wouldn't dare, he wouldn't dare.' He repeated this mantra over and over again in his thoughts as he watched Naruto take a deep breath and get ready to move his mouth. 'HE WOULD DARE!' his thoughts affirmed as suddenly his mind flashed back on. Ebisu made a mad dash not too dissimilar to the one Naruto had made just a few minutes ago.

"YOU! WILL! NOT! CORRUPT! THE YOUNG MASTER!" Ebisu shouted as the group of clones quickly slammed the books shut.

"Alright then, we won't!" they all shouted at once as they all threw their books at Ebisu at once, striking the man in the face repeatedly as his guard and balance were knocked off.

"Icha!" two clones shouted as they dashed directly in front of Ebisu, both kicking him in the gut, sending him up into the air at a 45-degree angle. At that moment, two more Naruto clones moved forward, one dashing past the other two clones and the airborne ninja, while the other ran right at the other two who cupped their hands together. "Icha!" the third clone shouted as he was catapulted towards Ebisu by the original two clones, taking full advantage of his momentum by punching the perverted man in the face, sending him further and higher into the air. The fourth clone repeated the third's movements, allowing himself to be catapulted in a similar manner by the first two clones, and then being tossed towards Ebisu by the third. The fourth clone spun forward in the air, much like a saw, before getting right to Ebisu's side. He extended his leg out and slammed it down upon his target's head, sending him rocketing towards the ground. "Para!" this clone shouted as the Jonin's trajectory was arced towards the final Naruto.

The excited Genin cracked his neck, making a small jump into the air. He spun on his side, his leg pulled back as Ebisu's bearings came back. His bearings were quickly scattered again as a spinning kick was delivered to his face, via Naruto. "Dise!" the Naruto shouted as Ebisu was launched several feet away, skipping across the ground a few times as all five of the Genin copies landed on the ground, the four actual clones disappearing, leaving a smirking original. "Take that; Icha-Icha Paradise Combo!" He shouted as he pumped his fist into the air.

"Alright! I won!" Naruto shouted as he began celebrating, Konohamaru merely staring with doe-eyes at his 'sensei'. Naruto began walking over to Ebisu, checking over his 'opponent'. "Wow, I really did a number on h-" At that second, Naruto's face was kicked in by a chakra-filled kick, one that not only sent him twenty feet into the air and away, but also knocked him flat out. Konohamaru's doe-eyes became ones of terror as Ebisu stood back up.

The irate Jonin glared at Naruto's unconscious body, hating the boy. He felt something run down his mouth and chin and began rubbing over that area of his face with his hand. He then checked his hand and was further angered to find blood on it. 'That little bastard... he gave me a bloody lip and a bloody nose!' he thought as he began storming over to the Genin's body, committed to replicating the injuries ten-fold.

However, in the last few seconds before the repeated confrontation, three kunai stuck themselves in the ground in front of Ebisu, shocking the Elite Jonin. "Now, now Ebisu... beating up an unconscious kid?" a lazy voice resounded. The bloodied combatant's eyes widened as he looked up into the trees, his eyes greeted with the sight of Kakashi Hatake sitting upon a limb, reading his own copy of Icha-Icha Paradise. Konohamaru was shocked by the other Jonin's silent and sudden appearance. "Really, are you really willing to go that low?" he asked as he flipped a page, Ebisu's face turning red, not out of anger, but out of embarrassment.

"Hatake-san, that boy did extensive damage not only to me, but to the young master's mind!" Ebisu shouted as he retrieved his own copy of the porn book, Kakashi merely looking at Konohamaru for a second before shrugging.

"He looked fine to me," the lazy Jonin said as he flipped another page. "Now, Ebisu, Hokage-sama wants you," he said as the Elite Jonin nodded regretfully and then disappeared in a second. Kakashi sat there, a thoughtful expression worn on his face... he must've been thinking something deep and meaningful. "Page 100... my favorite page," the perverted ninja said with a light giggle, quickly turning to said page... so much for deep and meaningful.

The Copy-Cat ninja then looked over at the Honorable Grandson, staring at him with his single time. "You know, you should probably get going too. Naruto will wake up on his own eventually, so you don't have to sit around. See ya." Kakashi departed after giving that short bit of advice. Konohamaru merely nodded, but quickly went over to Naruto, looking down at him for a few moments... before smirking.

"Yo, sensei... I don't think it's going to work out between us. It's not you and your training, it's me... okay, it is you... actually, it's your darn training." He said with a few chuckles. "Anyway... I'm gonna take advantage of your advice..." the young boy said, scratching his nose. "I'll stay under my grandpa's shadow for a while... I'll get strong in his shadow, become a better ninja, and then one day, all of Konoha will watch in a daze as I emerge from grandpa's shadow as a strong ninja... and my own person," the Honorable Grandson said with a small smile. "See ya later, Naruto," he said with a salute before running off.

Naruto simply laid there in the grass, his unconscious form unmoving, seemingly lifeless. However, there was a small twitch of his lips, one that either said 'good for you, kid' or 'someone better find me'.

Naruto smiled as he stared up at the ceiling, rounding off his story. "Well, I woke up later, no one had found me, and I had to make my way back to my place... and that's my story, thanks for not interrupting Iruka-sensei," he said as he looked down and found Iruka... to be asleep. Naruto face-vaulted as he glared at his former teacher.

'That bastard! He fell asleep during my awesome story! I swear to God I'll lynch him!' the blond thought angrily as he prepared to trounce the Academy teacher before, suddenly, the waitress brought the bill. Naruto looked at the bill for a moment... before smirking.

"Hey, you!" he called out, gaining the waitresses attention. "Another ten orders of beef, please!" he said as the waitress nodded and sent his order back, Naruto smirking at Iruka. "You don't fall asleep during one of _my_ stories..." he said with a smirk as he awaited the arrival of his food...

- The Next Day -

Naruto looked at the building in front of him and, though he doubted it would be the last time he would look upon the Academy building... it would be his last time as a student, or even as a Genin without a team, that he would look at it. The experience gave him a strange sense of nostalgia as he shrugged off some goosebumps that ran up his arms. The former student walked past the doors of the Academy, making his way to his classroom once more.

He opened the door and was quite satisfied to find that it was still relatively, and very not so loud, as it did tend to get when a large amount of SUFC girls got together to argue over who loved Sasuke more. He walked in and got a few surprised looks from other students. One, the normally lazy Shikamaru, actually took the initiative to ask the question that was dancing on the tongue of most of the students.

"Hey, Naruto, I thought only kids who graduated were supposed to come to class today," the lazy Genin more or less stated to Naruto before Naruto, in a highly boisterous manner, made the headband on his forehead more prominent by shaking it around a bit.

"You see this, Shikamaru? It means I graduated... yep," he said, the same familiar feeling of pride building up inside of him. "I ended up being so good that they had to graduate me," Naruto said as many students immediately became annoyed... Shikamaru, on the other hand…

"Whatever. Sounds way too troublesome, if you ask me..." the shadow ninja said as he yawned and placed his head on the table, ready to take a nap as Naruto found a seat not too far from Sasuke Uchiha... kind of pissed him off that this was one of the few seats close to the front that were open, but hey, this would probably be the last time he'd have to look at Sasuke's mug.

However, both Shikamaru's nap and Naruto's 'I'll never see Sasuke again celebration' were abruptly ended as Sakura and Ino shoved past one another, forcing their way right into the classroom and beginning to argue over who got in first. Shikamaru sighed as he banged his head against the desk he was trying to sleep on. "Women... so troublesome..." Shikamaru said with a yawn as the bickering escalated, while Naruto chuckled sheepishly... despite the interruption, he was still in a good mood.

"Come on, Shikamaru, it's the last day, can't you at least try to stay in high spi-" Naruto tried to preach his 'sort of friend', but was pushed out from his seat by at least fifteen pairs of hands that belonged to fifteen hormone-filled girls, all of which were arguing over who would get to sit by the last Uchiha. The fox-Genin, though previously having tried to keep his mood up, immediately felt it sour. Shikamaru shook his head as he sighed.

"Naruto, just wait it out... one of them will win the argument and then you'll have your seat back... to do otherwise would just be a waste of time, and would be too troublesome... especially with them," Shikamaru said with a yawn, abruptly killing any idea Naruto had to bust up the bickering. So he waited for, well, about 45 to 60 minutes before the seat next to Sasuke was finally taken, by Sakura Haruno no less, with Naruto grumbling about the amount of time it took him to get his damn seat.

Naruto sat there, his head resting on his forearms as he awaited Iruka... well, awaited wouldn't be the right word to use at that moment. The better phrase would've been 'hoping to God Iruka wouldn't choke him to death for ordering more food while Iruka was sleeping, and then sneaking out without telling him'. The immediate sound of feet stomping down the hall, followed by the sliding door being slammed open killed Naruto's hopes for such a situation.

The annoyed Chunin's eyes didn't go to anyone in the class but Naruto... and everyone, especially Naruto, knew this. Hell, everyone within a few feet of Naruto immediately moved away from him to avoid the 'disaster area' that would be the immediate area around the Genin. After a few moments of intense staring, the tanned man sighed as he shook his head, afterwards sending Naruto a 'don't do it again' look as he walked over to his desk, and picked up the clipboard. This garnered, of course, a huge, collective sigh of relief from the fox-Genin and everyone around him.

"Alright students, listen up. Today will be your last day as students of the Academy. Today will also be your first day as true Genin of Konoha," he said, various students smiling in the room, despite the area around Naruto still garnering a 'Red' in the threat scale. "This paper I have in my hand will be the deciding factor, and has the last word, on who you'll be teamed up with... the people you have in your team, and your ability to work with them, might very well dictate whether you will succeed or fail as a ninja," Iruka said, laying it on as thick as possible, noticing all of his students squirm.

So, with that out of the way, Iruka began. He started going through the names on Team 1, and then moved onto Team 2, and so on and so on till he finished up Team 6. Iruka looked at the next team, Team 7, and smirked... Naruto's team... well, time to begin. It would be kind of weird doing this, after all. After six years of knowing Naruto, it kind of disappointed Iruka that he would be leaving after what felt to be so soon. It also filled the Chunin with a small sense of pride, despite the stunt Naruto pulled the night before. The kid he hated for almost no reason, the kid he then grew to be good friends with, was leaving to go onto bigger and better things… the Academy teacher couldn't help but smile at this.

"Anyway, now we come to the listing for Team 7," Iruka said in a tone slightly laced with pride, with no real reaction from anyone in the classroom. "First member, Naruto Uzumaki..." Iruka read dreadfully slowly, Naruto immediately perking up at the mention of his name. This was it, this was his team, he'd soon know who he'd be teamed up with in his career as a ninja.

"Second member... Sasuke Uchiha," Iruka read off, Naruto no longer hanging on Iruka's words, as he now felt more like hanging himself... he wasn't going to get away from that Uchiha bastard...

"Alright then... the final member of Team 7, who will work beside Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha..." the climactic Chunin began, everyone staring at him, right through his eyes into the depths of his soul... well, that might be an overstatement, but everyone wanted to know, badly.

"Is..."

End of Chapter

Omake (You'll only know this if you're up-to-date with World of War Craft Pop Culture)

"That's right kid, the next part of the S.H.A.D.B.O.S.W.I.S.F.S. is actually pretty simple..." He said as he cracked his neck. "You're going to run at me with everything you've got and try to hit me in anyway, anywhere. If you do, we'll take a break... hell, I'll even get you a drink." He said as he pointed to the vending machines. "If you can't... we're going to keep on working..." He said as Konohamaru glared at Naruto, slowly climbing to his feet.

Konohamaru said as he raised his right hand, pulling it back and turning into a fist. "ALRIGHT THUMBS UP!" He shouted as he smiled brightly. "LET'S DO THIS! LEEEEEROOOOOY! JENKIIIIINS!" He then shouted as he charged Naruto...

- Minutes Later -

Konohamaru lay on the ground, beaten to a bloody pulp as Naruto stood by, shaking his head. "Konohamaru, you are just stupid as hell..." He said, as Konohamaru managed a small semblance of a smirk, holding up a piece of warmed up chicken, apparently having come from the chicken vendor nearby.

"Oh really... at least I have chicken..."

Omake 2 (Props to Lanipator, creator of Yu Yu Hakusho Abridged)

"THERE YOU ARE!" A loud shout resonated inside the clearing as the two youngsters turned around to see a certain irate Jonin, Ebisu. Naruto, at first, was very angry at the Jonin for having found them... however... in the next instant he became confused and concerned over an issue.

"Hey, wait a minute, how the hell did you find us, its not as if we did anything that would give us away... what gives?" Naruto asked as, suddenly, he got his answer.

"ATTENTION EVERYONE!" A voice over what sounded to be a speakerphone system resounded in the woods, drawing Naruto's, Ebisu's, and Konohamaru's attention to a large van with the words 'Neighborhood Watch Committee' written on the side, aforementioned speakerphone on top of the van. "THIS IS THE NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH COMMITTEE REMINDING YOU THAT IF YOU WISH TO FIND NARUTO UZUMAKI TAKING OUT HIS AGGRESSION ON KONOHAMARU IN THE FORM OF VARIOUS DIFFICULT AND NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TRAINING EXERCISES THEN HEAD TO THE WOODS JUST OUTSIDE OF THE KONOHA CITY LIMITS! THAT IS ALL!" Was then announced over the speakerphone, Naruto sweat dropping as his left eyebrow twitched.

"Damn you Neighborhood Watch Committee..."

Omake 3 from paintball-gamer (What happens when Naruto drinks Power Thirst?)

Naruto leapt into the middle of a clearing, a couple of vending machines nearby for Naruto to take drinks from should he get too thirsty. As Naruto noticed this rather small detail, Konohamaru stumbled into the clearing, quickly falling to the ground and rolling onto his back and taking in rather deep breaths. The Street Fox shook his head side to side, then went to the vending machine to grab a drink for himself.

Konohamaru slowly and shakily climbed to his feet, still breathing hard. "Dammit (pant), Naruto-sensei (pant), can't we (gasp) take a break? (cough) I'm exhausted!" He then noticed that Naruto was no longer in sight. "Huh? Naruto-sensei, where did you…?"

"HEY!" shouted Naruto's voice from behind Konohamaru, causing him to jump out of his skin. "DO YOU WANNA FEEL _**SO ENERGETIC?**_"

Konohamaru turned around to see Naruto vibrating on the spot while holding a drink can, and he was currently grinning like a madman with a crazy look in his eyes. "Naruto-sensei, what are you…?"

"THEN TRY _**POWER THIRST!**_" Naruto cut Konohamaru off while shoving the can in Konohamaru's face. "THE ENERGY DRINK FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED _**GRATUITOUS AMOUNTS OF ENERGY!**_"

Konohamaru was now getting a little nervous. "Naruto-sensei, are you feeling okay?"

Naruto continued ranting as if he hadn't heard Konohamaru speak. "WITH ALL-NEW FLAVOURS LIKE _**SHOCKOLATE!**_ CHOCOLATE ENERGY! IT'S LIKE ADDING CHOCOLATE TO _**AN ELECTRICAL STORM!**_"

"That… doesn't sound very safe," Konohamaru meekly commented.

"SOUND THE ALARM! YOU'RE GOING TO BE _**UNCOMFORTABLY ENERGETIC!**_"

"Uh, no thanks," replied Konohamaru, slowly attempting to sneak away and get away from Naruto until he calmed back down.

Naruto then zipped over next to Konohamaru and grabbed him in a headlock. "WHAT'S THAT? YOU WANT STRAWBERRY? THEN HOW ABOUT _**RAWBERRY?**_ MADE WITH LIGHTNING! _**REAL LIGHTNING!**_"

"Naruto, let go of me!" Konohamaru cried.

"SPORTS! (Lee jumps in and yells "AAAHHH!" then leaps back out) YOU'LL BE GOOD AT THEM! IT'S AN ENERGY DRINK FOR MEN! _**MENERGY!**_"

"I'm not a man! I'm a kid!" Konohamaru desperately yelled, trying to get out of Naruto's grip.

"THESE AREN'T YOUR DAD'S PUNS! THESE ARE ENERGY PUNS! _**TURBOPUNS!**_"

"That makes no sense!" cried Konohamaru, still trying to slip out of Naruto's grasp.

"SCIENCE! ENERGY! SCIENCE! ENERGY! ELECTROLYTES! TURBO-LYTES! POWER-LYTES! MORE LYTES THAN _**YOUR BODY HAS ROOM FOR!**_"

"SOMEONE HELP! NARUTO'S GONE INSANE!" screamed Konohamaru, still stuck in the headlock. As if on cue, Ebisu rushed onto the scene. "AHA!" he shouted triumphantly. "So this is where you have taken the Honorable Grandson! Return him now before I – "

Naruto cut him off. "YOU'LL BE SO FAST, MOTHER NATURE WILL BE LIKE _SLOOOOOWWWW DOOOWWWN! _AND THEN YOU'LL BE LIKE _FUCK YOU_ AND KICK HER IN THE FACE WITH YOUR _**ENERGY LEGS!**_" As if to demonstrate, he then kicked Ebisu in the face, sending him crashing into a tree and knocking him out.

_Crap! He was my only way out!_ thought Konohamaru.

"YOU'LL HAVE SO MUCH ENERGY _ENERGY!_ (Lee: AAAHHH!) YOU'LL JUST BE RUNNING _**ALL THE TIME!**_"

Konohamaru finally managed to slip out of Naruto's grip and attempted to make a break for it. "You can run all you want! I'm leaving!" Unfortunately, Naruto was too quick, and tied Konohamaru to a tree with some ninja wire.

"POWER RUNNING! POWER LIFTING! POWER SLEEPING! POWER DATING! POWER EATING! POWER LAUGHING! POWER SPAWNING _BABIES!_ YOU'LL HAVE SO MANY BABIES! _**400 BABIES!**_"

"I'm too young for having babies!" cried Konohamaru, trying to grab his kunai.

"GIVE SHOCKOLATE TO YOUR BABIES AND THEY'LL BE GOOD AT _**SPORTS!**_ MAKE YOUR BABIES RUN _**ABNORMALLY FAST!**_"

"Babies can't run! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"THEY'LL RUN AS FAST AS _**KENYANS! **_PEOPLE WILL WATCH THEM RUNNING AND THINK THEY'RE _**KENYANS!**_ THEY'LL RACE AS FAST AS _**KENYANS!**_ AGAINST ACTUAL _**KENYANS!**_ AND THEN THERE'LL BE A TIE AND THEY'LL GET DEPORTED BACK TO _**KENYA!**_"

"What is with you and Kenyans all of a sudden?" Konohamaru shouted, finally managing to grab his kunai.

"HEY, GO WITH THE SURE THING! DON'T GAMBLE ON _YOUR_ ENERGY! _Snake eyes…_ TRY POWER THIRST! THE ENERGY THAT WILL MAKE YOU (Lee: AAAHHH!) _**SPORTS!**_ (Lee: AAAHHH!)" Naruto then started convulsing and foaming at the mouth, then collapsed, having passed out.

Once that happened, Konohamaru managed to cut himself loose. _Note to self: NEVER drink Power Thirst!_

(credit goes to paintball-gamer for creating this omake, to Samurai-Blue-Moon for writing the fanfic that inspired it, and to Picnicface for the video that inspired it)

R&R, enjoy the chapter


	16. Chapter 16

Naruto: Alone

Hey there people, it's me, Arganaut, and I'm here with the next chapter of Naruto: Alone. Now then, last chapter I left you with a pretty nasty cliffhanger that I tried to make less painful with a large gaggle of Omakes. Needless to say, for many of you, I failed and failed terribly. So, before my life becomes too complicated by things again, it's time for another chapter to be written.

ANNOUNCEMENT: The last chapter has been fully versioned up. Both of my Betas read over the chapter, and together we made some needed changes. Just so you all know, the only parts that were changed were the final Academy scenes.

At any rate I should try to explain my long absence. I haven't had much time or inspiration to write for a while; really, things had been draining my energy greatly as of late. However, with the most recent chapter, I've rediscovered the outrage that got me into fanfiction in the first place, and now I'm roaring and ready to write up a storm! To apologize for my long absence, I've brought to this chapter a new type of Omake, one never done in fan fiction previously. With help from my Betas Zoneshifter D, Paintball-Gamer, and a loyal reader named FictionReader98, I have created a new series of jokes that will be sure to knock your socks off!

Anyway, onto most of the reviews:

Silver Warrior- Thanks, I thought so too. The way Ebisu was beaten in cannon seemed a little too outlandish, even for me. So I just decided to become a little more creative.

SpeeDemon- Well, the Omakes are technically optional, so if you ever felt like not reading them you could just skip over them. As for the third member, yes, this chapter the third member will be revealed.

Zashire- Rest assured that I would not rip off material from another artist without mention. I merely saw this on a video from some sort of anime convention (though, admittedly, it was choppy and hard to understand). If it's from a comic, then could you tell me which magazine I might find this comic strip?

**VFSnake-** Well, isn't Naruto reaching new levels of power and happiness also a bit overused? I mean, if this was your average fic, then Naruto and Hinata would be going out by this chapter, and Naruto would be an unstoppable behemoth. Really, I much prefer watching Naruto struggle and work hard for the things he wants in life (in a fic) versus the more mainstream fan fiction way.

Infinite Freedom- Keep your fingers crossed, man. And also, while he'll learn some taijutsu, I don't think stealing Zabuza's sword would really be all that possible for him.

Bassclone13- Wow, that's a lot of win then. I mean, I don't think I've ever heard of someone being affected by that much win. Also, yes, damn me and my cliffhanging ways.

Chronostorm- Whoa, whoa, pal, slow down. You're going one-thousand miles a minute and you're making it hard for me to find any congruency in your review. Use more periods and other punctuate marks when reviewing next time, please?

Dameus- Meh, you can't please all of the people some of the time, and you can't please some of the people all of the time.

Redcrimsonblood- Thanks for the compliments and welcome aboard, glad to have you as a reviewer.

**Paintball-Gamer**- Well, you're one of my beta-readers, so this review is somewhat outdated. However, I will say this on the Sakura or Hinata part… just read the chapter.

YamiKyuubi- Dude, seriously, you need to calm the hell down. Its one thing when you act silly once or twice in a review, but this. This is insanity.

Asfdwervr- Dude, let me just say this. I've already announced that this story will be heavily influenced by NaruHina in the later chapters. If you don't like it then deal with it. However, the pairing crap will be light in the earlier chapters, so you don't have to worry too much. In all honesty though, if Hinata eventually playing a larger role in this story disturbs you so much, then stop reading.

**Dragon Man 180**- Dragon Man, honestly, would you have expected any less from me, a guy who's repeatedly slapped you all with cliffhangers throughout my time here on FF?

InARealPickle- I see. Well, just make sure to get plenty of sleep next time then.

Gryphon Turboclaw- Well I sort of always imagined Ebisu as a closet pervert, one of those guys who has the books stashed around his house and hidden on his person, going to the porn store dressed up in a large coat to disguise himself; you know, one of those guys. That's why I felt that Naruto's trick was very fitting.

**FictionReader98-** Well, we've been discussing for months now, and so you'll finally see the fruit of the effort.

Well, that's the reviews. I have to say, these were actually the easiest part of writing this chapter. Believe me, it ain't easy balancing school, life, and trying to find new ways of writing, and trying out new diction, in order to improve the quality of a chapter.

So, without further ado, let's commence the next chapter of Naruto: Alone!

**ANNOUNCEMENT! ANNOUNCEMENT! ANNOUNCEMENT**!

From this point on the usual way of telling this story will be somewhat discarded. Instead of 80-95% of each chapter focusing singularly on Naruto, there will be somewhat extensive coverage of the rest of his team. Just letting all of you know that so when, by chance, I go on multiple paragraphs (or even pages) about another character, you don't start bugging me about where the hell Naruto is, or why the hell I haven't covered him in each and every single paragraph.

Just making sure we're on the same page here.

Chapter 16: They're here, they're here! Team 7 Has Now Arrived!

Last Time on Naruto Alone:

_"Anyway, now we come to the listing for Team 7," Iruka said in a tone slightly laced with pride, with no real reaction from anyone in the classroom. "First member, Naruto Uzumaki..." Iruka read dreadfully slowly, Naruto immediately perking up at the mention of his name. This was it, this was his team, he'd soon know who he'd be teamed up with in his career as a ninja._

_"Second member... Sasuke Uchiha," Iruka read off, Naruto no longer hanging on Iruka's words, as he now felt more like hanging himself... he wasn't going to get away from that Uchiha bastard..._

_"Alright then... the final member of Team 7, who will work beside Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha..." the climactic Chunin began, everyone staring at him, right through his eyes into the depths of his soul... well, that might be an overstatement, but everyone wanted to know, badly._

_"Is....................................................."_

And Now For Our Feature Presentation

Iruka continued to pause as he took in his former students reactions. The tension in the room was so thick you could slice through it with a kunai, cut a piece of it off, and then chew it like taffy. Under other circumstances, this would've freaked out the stoic Academy teacher… but, here and now, it made sense. After all, Sasuke was one of the most popular kids in the entire Academy; any girl would've wanted to be on the same team as him, so obviously half of the tension came from that. On the other hand, however, there was Naruto, who was perhaps one of the least popular kids at the Academy. With his record as a thief, there was probably an equal amount of girls praying to God they wouldn't end up on the same team as him. Of course, though, there was Hinata Hyuga, the only person there who probably wanted to know if she would end up on the fox boy's team so badly that she would pass out within the next few seconds if he kept up his silence.

Iruka knew he couldn't wait much longer. He had to announce the teams and then give them a lunch break before their Jonin-sensei would show up… well, he didn't have to worry so much about Naruto's Jonin-sensei showing up before they did, but nonetheless, he had to finish up. So, with a heavy sigh and an even heavier heart, he read the final name on the list.

"Sakura Haruno," he read off steadily, before suddenly being bombarded by what was perhaps the loudest series of groans, whines, cries, or shouts of outrage he had ever heard in his entire life. He knew this had to have disappointed a lot of girls who wanted to be on Sasuke's team. Ino Yamanaka was practically foaming at the mouth. However, he could see that some were relieved that they wouldn't be on the same team as Naruto "The Street Fox" Uzumaki, so apparently, to them, not being with Sasuke was a small price to pay for them.

Sakura, it seemed, held the opposite point of view. She was currently up out of her seat shouting in celebration over her victory. Apparently, her being on the same team as Naruto was a small price to pay in order to be closer to her crush. Still, Iruka couldn't help but wonder if Naruto was doing even worse off than when he announced that the Uchiha would be on his team. He looked over at the young blond and was not at all surprised to find Naruto just banging his head against his desk.

"How in God's name did this happen to me?!" Naruto shouted to himself as he slowly began splitting some of the wooden surface of the desk. Iruka just stared blankly before moving on. He knew Naruto was disappointed for now... but maybe it would be okay. It was unlikely to improve... but...

'Well... a man can hope.' Iruka thought to himself as he continued reading the list.

"Team 8," the Chunin began, looking at the three members. "Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, and Hinata Hyuga shall make up Team 8," the tanned Chunin stated, noting that the team had reacted, for the most part, positively… though, the positive tone was carried mostly by Kiba. Shino had remained, as always, calm and stoic. Hinata continued to look very disappointed, and it was no surprise to Iruka. He knew that out of all the females in the class, she was the only one who wanted to be on Naruto's team. To not have that spot was obviously crushing to her.

However, Iruka couldn't dwell on this forever, so he immediately moved onto Team 9. Team 9 was made up of some rather average Genin, and was fashioned together from the remaining Genin. After placing those Genin into Team 9, he moved onto Team 10, the last team on his clipboard.

"Team 10…" Iruka shouted over the screams of everyone else, silencing the class so that he could continue. "...will be made up by Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka," Iruka finished, putting the clip-board aside, having finished the list with that team. Team 10, by nature, wouldn't cause all that much trouble. Choji and Shikamaru were already good friends to begin with, so they were pretty happy with the arrangement. In fact, the only person who really hated, and Iruka meant hated, this was Ino, who had gone from foaming at the mouth, to being dead silent with a destroyed look on her face, to screaming at Sakura at the top of her lungs after the pink-haired kunoichi had taunted her a bit.

Still, by every measure of standard this could've been worse. Ino could've outright attacked Sakura, sparking what would've been a huge fight amongst most of the females. Iruka merely took what little victory he could dig out of avoiding such a catastrophe and set the clipboard aside.

"Dismissed…" he stated for the final time as their sensei before exiting the room, the students slowly following.

The first student out was Sasuke Uchiha, the young man desperately trying to make his way far away from the Academy. The second person out was Sakura Haruno, who was tailing him on his way out. As the other students left, however, Naruto was left alone in the room, grinding his teeth together. The young boy was frustrated, angry, and absolutely contusing with each emotion. He knew he'd now have to be on the same team with these two. Hell, it was an order from Iruka­-sensei and, he thought, the Hokage… didn't mean he had to like it, though.

He looked down at his right hand and saw that it was twitching… whenever Naruto got like this, he either did one of two things to relieve the stress.

Either do some ridiculously punishing training…

Or steal.

Now this was a difficult choice. As a Genin, he was now a member of Konoha's force, and he knew stealing was frowned upon… then again, he'd rather not rough himself up before meeting his sensei, lest he perform below average on whatever training or assignment they may be given.

Steal and be frowned upon, or train and come in looking like he'd just got beaten up…

As Naruto stood up, he checked his pouch and his pockets for what supplies he had. After all, very few people had any respect for him anyway. Besides, this would be the last time he stole… honestly, the very last time….

Then again, old habits are hard to break.

---------- The Streets of Konoha ----------

Sasuke Uchiha was a kid of few words, and even fewer emotions. You'd be hard pressed to ever find any sign of a feeling or stimulus flashing across his face, no matter what you said to him or what you'd do. You'd have a better chance of getting an emotional response out of a rock than you would out of him. However, somewhere, a rock must've been confessing its bottled up emotions to someone else, for Sasuke Uchiha had on his face one of the most vivid displays of anger that anyone had seen the boy display for quite sometime.

He was walking along, this look plastered on his face, as he thought about the current situation he had found himself in. This, in his mind, was the worst possible team combination he could've been given… ever.

Sakura Haruno, the girl ninja of the group. She was book smart, and thus probably knew a lot about plants, poisons, and most of the basic information taught during their time in the Academy… if only she was as effective at implementing it as she was at memorizing it. She wasn't strong, she wasn't terribly fast, her weapons accuracy was average at best… oh, and she was constantly following him around, even before they got on the same team. He was under the assumption that he'd have to carry her weight around, seeing as how she probably wouldn't allow herself to work with the other member of this screwed up team…

Oh, just the very thought of Naruto Uzumaki made the Uchiha's blood boil to a feverish degree. It wasn't that Naruto was a poor ninja. No, the kid would be able to hold his own weight… what frustrated Sasuke was that he now had to deal with a kid who was every bit his equal, without being his equal. As paradoxical as that might sound, Sasuke did have a rhyme of reason to come to such a conclusion. Sasuke and Naruto were not equally matched with the same talents, that was certain. Where they became equals, however, was how they managed to be good at what the other person wasn't skilled with.

While Sasuke was excellent with Taijutsu and could punch circles around Naruto for an entire fight, Naruto could easily outrun Sasuke in any race posed to them. Where Sasuke had a plethora of jutsu, Naruto had a plethora of ninja techniques that, quite often, didn't require huge reserves of chakra. Where Sasuke could finish a fight quick, Naruto could outlast you in a fight. Where Sasuke was only moderately good at sneaking, there would be times where you couldn't even tell Naruto was in the same room as you…

Yet despite this great annoyance, there was a silver lining. At the very least, Naruto could act as a test of Sasuke's skills, to see how he improved in his training….

"Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke heard behind him as he was dragged out of his thoughts. Oh yeah, he had forgotten the fact that he was currently being tailed by his pink-haired teammate. She had been asking him for… something these past couple of minutes. He sighed and stopped his movement, deciding that it would just be better to answer her than to ignore her and have her on his back for the rest of the lunch break. He turned around and looked at her with a cocked eyebrow, sighing again as he spoke.

"What?" he asked in his normal monotone voice, trying to subdue the frustration he had been feeling in order to deal with her. Sakura blushed a bit and glanced around to both sides, Sasuke just standing there waiting for her to talk.

"Well, Sasuke-kun, I was just wondering, you know, since we're teammates now… if you'd maybe want to get to learn about each other over lunch?" she asked. As she looked up at him, Sasuke lowered his cocked eyebrow. Of course… he should've expected that question from her.

"I'm not hungry," he said quite simply as he turned back around and began walking again, Sakura visibly struck morally after having been so quickly shot down.

"Ummm… okay… how about another time then?" she asked the object of her affections. However, Sasuke merely sighed once more, not even bothering for an answer. Sakura watched him move away, before slumping over, a sweat drop forming on the back of her head. The pink-haired girl sighed and shook her head; her attempt at getting some time alone with her crush, and now teammate, did not go like she planned.

It wasn't that she was hoping for him to say an enthusiastic yes, or even a cool 'okay'. She was just pulling for a 'whatever'. Even that would've been good enough for her to begin with. To expect more right out of the Academy would've been, even for her, a bit over-zealous. With another sigh, Sakura stood up, a confident look on her face.

"Well hey, we're teammates now, right? That means I'll get more chances in the future," Sakura declared rather strongly, as her inner-self had a deep fire in her eyes.

"**CHA! SASUKE-KUN IS WITHIN OUR REACH!**" Inner-Sakura declared with even more confidence than Sakura herself. With another nod, Sakura did decide to go out and eat, even if it was by herself for now. Overall, she was satisfied with the team she was assigned to, though admittedly her satisfaction had more to do with Sasuke than it did with Naruto.

A small vein appeared on Sakura's forehead as the name appeared in her mind. Naruto Uzumaki… the 'Street Fox of Konoha', and, according to rumor from the adults, an assistant to Itachi Uchiha during the Uchiha Massacre… not that she bought that herself.

Sakura was a smart girl and, looking at Naruto, there was no way he'd help kill an entire clan. Sure, she would believe that he would try and steal all of their stuff and break numerous other laws while he was at it, but he just didn't seem like the type of person to be a murderer. That being said, she still didn't like Naruto. To her, he was just a crook. Granted, he was a crook idolized by some, but a crook nonetheless. Plus there was the fact that, at nearly every turn, he seemed to be getting into some kind of trouble, something she wasn't looking forward to as a teammate of his. Then there was just the general feud that the Sasuke Uchiha Fan Club, founded by herself and Ino, and the 'Street Fox Fan Club' had years ago. Sure, the entire Fan Club thing had died down when the girls starting competing against each other for Sasuke, but the general feeling towards Naruto remained the same, diluted though it was now.

The pink-haired girl merely grunted as she forced such thoughts aside. For now, she just wanted to get a small lunch in before their sensei showed up. So, with a sigh and a smile, Sakura walked along, just trying to think of the positive side of today.

---------- The Academy, An Hour Later ----------

The classroom was buzzing with noise once again as the Genin had returned from their lunch breaks, all of them wondering, and most of them talking, about what type of persons their Jonin-sensei might be. The reason why only most of them were talking was because the members of Team 7 were, for the most part, off in their own little worlds. Naruto was in one part of the room counting up the yards of ninja wire, the several ninja weapons, and other items he had stolen in order to calm himself down. Sasuke was quietly thinking to himself, purposely ignoring Sakura, who was either trying to talk to him, bragging to Ino, or just conversing with other classmates for what would likely be the last time in a while.

Soon enough, the Jonin-sensei arrived in the classroom. These master ninja began taking their teams to their respective meeting places. Team 7 simply waited for their sensei to show up… and then they waited for him to show up when they were one of the last teams in the classroom… then they waited for him to show up when they were the last ones there… and they waited there for what felt like a good hour or so. Then that hour or so turned to two hours or so, and by that time, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were all bored out of their skulls. Naruto was counting up his stock for about the twentieth time in a row. Sakura had foregone trying to talk to Sasuke, and had decided to just sit there and wait silently, nearly falling asleep a few times. Sasuke, in the meantime, just went on doing nothing, though he had noticed that he was beginning to tap his foot in an annoyed manner.

It wasn't long, however, before Naruto broke the silence, finally snapping his mind from the endless counting. "Damn it! Where the hell is our sensei?!" the blond shouted while pulling at his hair in frustration. Sasuke sighed, though he was somewhat glad the silence was broken. Sakura, too annoyed with their tardy sensei to be annoyed with Naruto, just nodded in agreement, not wishing to vocalize her thoughts the way the blond had. As for their late sensei, well, if they had just looked out the door and down the hall, they would've seen Kakashi Hatake, standing there with a blank expression on his face.

He looked out a window at the end of the hall and saw that the sun had traveled quite a bit since he had arrived… he figured that he had tortured them enough. He walked towards the door and sighed as he slapped himself on both sides of his masked face. This would probably be the first time in a while that he had met a possible team that he actually felt was so promising… he needed to make sure that it was real.

So, he slowly slid open the door and stepped inside, immediately feeling three pairs of eyes beginning to drill into the side of his head as he slowly turned his head to look at his new team. He had to admit, it was an odd trio for sure. Sasuke Uchiha, the last Uchiha in Konoha, Sakura Haruno, the first ninja to come out of the Haruno house, and Naruto Uzumaki, the Kyuubi-boy turned Street Fox turned Genin. 'If they do pass, I'll certainly have the most interesting team in Konoha,' he thought to himself with an inward chuckle before he began.

"My first impression of you all…" he began slowly, noting that Sakura and Sasuke were leaning in close to hear, while Naruto was just staring at him with a slightly puzzled expression. Kakashi himself was wondering whether or not the young blond recognized him from their little run-in all those years ago. The boy had been unconscious when Kakashi had stepped in to stop Ebisu, so their only other meeting was that chase. He then looked over at Sakura and Sasuke, who were still looking at him, Sakura doing so intently, and Sasuke doing so in a more 'whatever' sort of manner. "…I don't like you," he finished, causing all three Genin to sweat drop. The scarecrow smirked a bit underneath his mask, before pointing up. "Meet on the roof in five minutes," he said before disappearing in an explosion of smoke. Sakura and Sasuke quickly stood up to go head towards the roof, while Naruto sat up a bit more slowly.

Naruto was trying to figure out who their sensei was… he was sure he had seen this guy before, but… it was in the very back of his mind somewhere. After about three minutes of thinking about Kakashi, Naruto quickly shook his head and began running to catch up. He'd remember where he saw the masked Jonin later.

With only seconds to spare, Naruto made it to the top of the building, the other two members of his team already on the roof looking around for the silver-haired ninja. As soon as the fifth minute passed, another large plume of smoke appeared on the edge of the roof, quickly clearing to reveal Kakashi sitting on the ledge, his eye looking towards all three Genin. "Alright, sit down right over there," he said, pointing towards a spot on the roof that was about ten feet in front of him.

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura merely nodded as they sat in the designated spot, looking towards Kakashi as they waited for him to speak again. The Jonin was looking over his new team, before turning his closed eye, indicating that he was smiling underneath his mask. "Well, I guess we should begin our first meeting by introducing ourselves," he said as he looked at them, waiting for them to speak.

"Well, what do you want us to say?" Sakura suddenly asked. Kakashi looked over at her before shrugging.

"Don't really care. Your likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, names, et cetera," Kakashi said in as bored a tone as he could, all three Genin sweat dropping before Naruto pointed at him.

"Well, why don't you go first…" he said, hoping that such information would give him a hint in who this guy was.

Kakashi, for his part, just shrugged. "Alright. Well, my name is Kakashi Hatake. I have a lot of likes, and I have a lot of dislikes… dreams for the future… no thanks," he said, his students obviously waiting for him to say more. "That's it for me. Your turn, blondie," he then pointed towards Naruto, said blond twitching his eye at the nickname.

"Alright, fine. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like meat of all kinds: beef, chicken, rabbit, deer, snake… ya know, the works," he said. Kakashi nodded thoughtfully, while Sakura turned a deep shade of green. Even Sasuke, who was normally stoic, stared at Naruto dumbly, a bit nauseous himself. "I also like stealing, snow, and just ninja stuff in general."

"I don't dislike much, but you're quickly making your way onto the list," the blond said with a not so discreet twitch towards Kakashi, which made the Jonin chuckle inwardly, though it was perfectly hidden underneath his mask. "Dreams for the future… well, I just want to make a lot of money, and then live the good life," he concluded with a shrug. Kakashi raised his eyebrows at that goal. He had to admit he was a bit surprised that Naruto had pretty simple life goals.

So, with Naruto's turn finished, Kakashi turned his finger towards Sakura. "Alright, your turn," he said in a dull tone, as Sakura quickly began speaking.

"Okay! My name is Sakura Haruno. I like…" the pink-haired girl began, glancing over at Sasuke before giggling. "My dreams for the future…" she continued as she repeated the previous action. "I dislike Ino-pig and crooks," she said, a not so discreet shot at Naruto's reputation, which he merely shrugged off.

"You and about ninety-percent of everyone in town," the Street Fox said coolly as he yawned. Sakura's left eye twitched in annoyance at her teammate's barb. Kakashi merely watched the interaction with some amusement.

'Well now, this is somewhat interesting. Apparently his reputation as a thief irks her… and she is as infatuated with Sasuke as Iruka claimed… this could either be trouble… or fun to watch,' he thought with another chuckle. 'I might even put Icha-Icha Paradise down to watch,' he joked with himself before coughing, gaining Naruto's and Sakura's attention.

"Well, if you two are done, I believe it's his turn," the silver-haired Jonin said calmly, pointing over at Sasuke. The impeding disaster was averted, as Sakura immediately turned to pay attention to her crush, Naruto only listening half-heartedly, as a way of learning more about a teammate. Sasuke merely looked at the rest of the group before staring straight out into space.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha… I have very few likes, but have a lot of dislikes… my dream… no, my life's goal is to kill a certain someone…" Sasuke said darkly, Kakashi merely sighing a bit.

'He hasn't gotten over it yet… not all that surprising, really…' Kakashi thought solemnly as he remembered the night he was called in to examine the scene… he himself could barely stand it, so he could only imagine how the young boy in front of him did.

Naruto himself felt for Sasuke. After all, if he guessed right, he was talking about his brother… and Naruto certainly didn't have excellent feelings for the guy who tried to stab him for 72 hours. Sakura, on the other hand, had mixed feelings. While she could admit that the dark way he said it made him look and sound cool… the idea of him centering an entire goal around killing someone was a bit… disturbing.

"Well, that's it for introductions," Kakashi said with a smile underneath his mask. "I guess its time to inform you all about the test," he said in an almost cheerful manner, clearly confusing his understudies. "After all, I have to see if you're Genin material…"

"Kakashi-sensei? We all took the Academy Genin Exam, we're Ge-" Sakura began, before Kakashi interrupted her.

"Ah, yes. You're Genin by the Academy standards… but we have to see if you're Genin by my standards," he said in disturbingly joyful sounding tone. "Now then… tomorrow, you'll meet me at the Team 7 training grounds 5:00 sharp; you'll be able to find a map of the grounds just outside the Hokage Tower. If you just so happen to pass my test, you'll be my team and I'll train you… if you happen to fail… then I'd have no choice but to send you all back to the Academy for another year," the scarecrow said with a chuckle. "Won't that be fun?" Looking at his eye, you'd say the answer would be yes… looking at the Genin's faces… well, all three had an expression of horror on their face, though some of them had a degree of horror worse than the others.

"Oh, by the way, don't bother eating breakfast before you come, you'll just end up chucking it all over the training ground, and believe me, the people who have to pick up after us won't enjoy that," Kakashi added with another chuckle. "Dismissed," he said quickly before disappearing in yet another explosion of smoke. The three young people stared off into the spot their sensei had been just moments earlier, before glancing at one another. Immediately Sasuke and Naruto stood up and began sprinting in opposite directions, with Sakura following suit a bit later, and went home. They all had similar thoughts running through their head; tomorrow was going to be hell, and they were definitely going to need a great amount of preparation.

---------- The Team 7 Training Area ---------- 4:55 A.M. ----------

It was very early in the morning in Konoha. The birds were not yet awake, the gentle sounds of grasshoppers playing their majestic melody was still humming in the air, and the air was cool and calm as could be. This time would normally be seen by many as a good time to be sleeping. However, three certain Genin were up at this early hour, making their way to their testing grounds, hoping that they would be able to keep their titles as newly minted Genin. They each came from a somewhat different direction, mostly because they thought their way was the short cut, but also because they wanted to be alone for a bit.

They all had run into each other when they picked up the maps from the Hokage Tower. Needless to say, being up so early did very little to improve the tension that still hung in the air. Sasuke didn't wish to speak to Sakura, Sakura didn't wish to speak to Naruto, though she wanted to talk to Sasuke, and Naruto didn't want to talk with either one of them. However, the three merely looked at each other and sighed as they walked into the middle of the clearing, right now too tired from the lack of sleep to really bother. They'd be pissy after the test…

So, all three of them stood there, checking the breaking dawn for a sign of the time. They saw that it was almost 5:00, and began waiting patiently for Kakashi to show up. They waited for five minutes… then they waited for one half hour… then they waited for an hour; and soon enough three hours passed… and the Genin team was still waiting for their sensei. Well, waiting was what they were sort of doing. They were more or less standing there like a group of the undead, yawning, moaning, and swaying around a bit as they tried to stay awake. About three hours later, however, Kakashi arrived in the field, the three Genin looking over at him with their eyes half open.

"You're late…" all three of them said in a tired tone as Kakashi sweat dropped.

"Sorry, you see I was on my way here, but a herd of black cats blocked my path, so I had to run into town and pick up several good luck charms," he said, pulling out two bells from his pocket. "Like these two bells; they are one of my charms… and your test objective." The scarecrow said this slowly, causing the three Genin to immediately perk up, seeing the goal right before their eyes. "You see, the test is simple enough. You grab a bell, you pass. You don't grab a bell, you fail and go back to the Academy. Sounds simple enough, right?" Kakashi asked before tying both bells to his belt. All three Genin noticed what was wrong with this picture, but Naruto spoke out first.

"Wait, there are three of us and only two bells… doesn't that mean that no matter what…" Naruto said in a grim tone in his voice while Kakashi nodded with a bright smile in his eye.

"That's right, Naruto. One of you three will be going back to the Academy if the other two get these bells!" Kakashi said in a way that sounded giddy, causing the three young ninja to stare at him in bewilderment. "However, if none of you can get the bells by the time the sun hits its apex in the sky…" Kakashi said, pointing right above himself. "All of you fail." All three Genin flinched yet again, though Naruto, once again, spoke for the rest of the group.

"What?! Are you crazy?!" Naruto shouted at Kakashi, who merely chuckled in response.

"Well, would you look at this; the Street Fox is actually a bit nervous!" Kakashi said, wincing to himself when Naruto growled softly… that may have been a tad over the line, but at he had to get the young Genin riled up for this. "Anyway, on top of going back to the Academy, I'll tie the loser, or losers, to those logs over there… and they'll have to watch the winners and I, or winner, or just myself, eat lunch…" Kakashi said, in a tone that sounded almost sadistic to the starved Genin, whose stomachs ached from the sound of the word 'lunch'.

"Well, it sounds like we're all clear on the rules, so on my mark you can begin the test," Kakashi said, the three Genin tensing up immediately, trying to forget the pangs of hunger in their stomachs. The tension remained for several moments as Kakashi tried to rack the nerves of his team a little more before beginning their nightmare. "Begin."

Before he even uttered the second syllable, all three Genin had leapt into the woods, making themselves scarce by trying to hide within the thick foliage.

The Jonin wasn't surprised by their decision. Even to him, hiding from a superior opponent and waiting for the right moment to strike was the right move. At the same time, they separated from each other, both a good and a bad move. It was a good move, since for now he couldn't easily find the cluster of chakra emanating from one spot. But it was also bad, because he still had a good track on all three of them anyway, and if he felt like it, he could seek them out one by one and knock them out for the duration of the test.

After all, Sakura's pink hair stuck out like a sore thumb under the bushes to the left of him, he could see Sasuke moving about in the trees, probably trying to pull out some weapons from his pouch, and Naruto, while most definitely the hardest of them to track, was right behind him in the branches of the tree. Naruto obviously wasn't checking to see if he was upwind of Kakashi or not, which allowed said Jonin to smell the thick aroma of barbeque meat and animal blood that seemed to constantly cover the boy coming from said tree.

When the leaves rustled, Kakashi sighed and pulled out a kunai. He was hoping that the Street Fox would be a bit better than that. He threw a kunai into the tree and was satisfied when he heard the metal tearing through clothing. He turned around to look at his prize, and indeed, he saw the young boy's black jacket fall out of the tree… the only problem was that there was no Naruto inside the jacket.

The scarecrow's only visible eyebrow rose in interest, when suddenly, a barrage of kunai followed by four shuriken came his way from seemingly out of nowhere. Kakashi quickly turned and, with merely the metal plates on the back of his gloves, deflected the kunai easily. Then, with all the dexterity he could muster, quickly plucked the shuriken from the air, the spinning stars resting with his fingers through their center. Kakashi took this shuriken and threw them back into the bushes from which they came, again hearing metal meet clothing. He knew Naruto was there that time, but was disappointed when all that came from the bushes was a mere explosion of smoke.

'Huh, Shadow Clones,' Kakashi commented idly, before he heard something emerge from the underbrush behind him. 'Looks like he's already begun integrating them into his style…' he thought. Then, he quickly spun on his heels and met with the sight of Naruto charging after him with a kunai in each hand. The scarecrow's interest immediately fell again, disappointed in the rather upfront way Naruto was handling the situation now.

As the blond tried to sweep the kunai across Kakashi's torso, the Jounin merely ducked down below the horizontal swings and kicked Naruto in the chin, sending the boy a good ten feet back. Naruto had dropped the kunai beside Kakashi due to the force of the kick, before he flipped in mid-air and landed on his feet, rubbing his jaw from the blow he took. The silver-haired Jounin sighed as he stood up completely. He could've used his patented 'Thousand Years of Death' on Naruto had he chosen to, but he decided that, as interesting as the fight started off, he couldn't go that route yet. Who knows? Maybe the boy still had some tricks up his sleeves.

Little did Kakashi know that the tricks weren't in Naruto's sleeves… they were in the kunai. The weapons immediately exploded in a column of smoke, which honestly surprised Kakashi when two Naruto clones immediately rushed him, trying to lay a punch on him. Kakashi dodged each attempted attack. Even when the real Naruto joined the brawl, the Jonin didn't find the need for effort too great to avoid Naruto's strikes.

'If I were to give him an A for effort, I would… but the reports were right, his Taijutsu isn't nearly up to par,' Kakashi thought as he deftly dodged a kick.

True, Naruto had been using some rather surprising tricks in order to catch Kakashi off guard, most of them actually surprising him for a moment or two. However, nothing the Genin had done as of yet had truly knocked Kakashi off his footing. The proof of that was the fact that no matter how fast these clones moved, they couldn't even nick him. Kakashi, however, immediately noticed one of the clones making a mad grab for the bells, coming perilously close to them.

'Alright, time to end this little bit of fun,' Kakashi thought before immediately turning to face the clone, which had left itself completely open in its move for the bells, allowing the Jonin to punch it in the gut.

As the clone dispersed, Kakashi immediately grabbed the arm of another Naruto that had made a grab for the bells, and began swinging him around. It crashed into the last Naruto, causing it to disperse into smoke, leaving Kakashi with the Naruto he was currently spinning. The Jonin chuckled as he spun around faster, swinging Naruto around with him until he let go, throwing the Genin into the very tree that had started off this round.

Naruto slammed into the tree's trunk and fell to the ground, coughing violently as the air was knocked out of him. He stood back up, grabbed his jacket and pulled it back on. "You know, that was actually a good start… too bad you didn't succeed, I was really pulling for ya," Kakashi said in a sort of disappointed manner. Naruto glared at him, coughing due to the hit.

"S-shut up…" he said, finding it difficult to talk without a lot of air in his lungs. "I was so close…" Naruto muttered, more to himself, while Kakashi shrugged.

"Believe me when I say 'so close' won't cut it in the Ninja World…" Kakashi began, before Naruto snapped at him.

"I know that!" the young boy shouted. Kakashi was taken aback by his tone. However, if he was honest with himself, he should've seen that coming. He knew that Naruto's entire life had circled around 'so close' not cutting it. Hell, he wouldn't have survived if close had cut it. Kakashi sighed. Oh well, at least the boy was getting into this, and hopefully he'd be able to put up a better fight… still, Kakashi didn't really find much to fear from Naruto and, at this point, Sasuke and Sakura, both of whom were still hiding in the surrounding foliage. After all, even if the others were moderately skilled in Taijutsu, he had no doubt in his mind that they couldn't lay a finger on him.

So, slowly, Kakashi reached into his kunai pouch. Naruto immediately tensed up and pulled out a kunai of his own, ready to defend against whatever weapon the Jonin would try and use against him. So one could imagine Naruto's utter surprise when what Kakashi pulled out wasn't a weapon, but a book… a particular book that Naruto had seen now a number of times in his life. Immediately Naruto took on a look of indignation as he stood up. "PERVERT!" Naruto shouted loudly as he pointed at Kakashi, who merely giggled perversely. "You're reading that book!? Isn't this supposed to be a test, you… you…?!" Naruto shouted, growing angrier and more frustrated by the second. He knew why Kakashi was reading the book in the middle of the fight… he just didn't want to sa-

"What? You're no threat; I figure I can get some reading in." A vein began throbbing violently on Naruto's forehead as Kakashi worded out his thoughts. Even Sasuke and Sakura, who were just watching from the sidelines, were annoyed at the Jonin's actions. Sakura because her would-be sensei was a pervert, and Sasuke because he found it to be just the most stupid thing he'd seen today. However, their annoyance covered up a budding nervous rush. After all, they had just watched Naruto, the Street Fox, throw some keen tricks at the Jonin, all of which failed. Though Sasuke still felt he could handle Kakashi, his own confidence was diminished, while Sakura's confidence was diving fast.

Naruto merely looked at the perverted Jonin as he read… the…

It suddenly snapped. Everything in Naruto's mind began to click. He knew where he'd seen this guy before! That day, he was running from the Chunin… the book, the silver-haired Cyclops; that was Kakashi! Naruto's eyes widened as the dots suddenly connected. Naruto looked Kakashi over with this sudden realization, and grew all the more frustrated. "You... I remember you now!" Naruto said, standing up with great speed. "That day, in the streets… you, the book…" Naruto stammered, speaking in incomplete sentences due to his frustration. Kakashi merely gave Naruto his eye-smile as he nodded.

"I figured you'd remember me sooner or later," Kakashi said as he turned a page in the book, giggling as he did. "So, what are you going to do about it?" Naruto flinched, before grinding his teeth. This revelation, combined with the embarrassment of the beat down Kakashi delivered onto him and his Shadow Clones, caused Naruto to snap a bit.

"If you're still just as obsessed about that book as before, then I won't have any trouble beating you while you keep one hand tied up!" Naruto shouted, charging Kakashi. The scarecrow sighed at the boy's actions, shaking his head.

"Really?" Kakashi asked in a rather astounded tone as he suddenly closed the book, and tossed it up into the air. Naruto, having already gotten in front of the Jonin, was taken by surprise with the sudden unexpected action.

'…. Shit!' Naruto screamed in his head when suddenly, Kakashi began severely beating him down with his fists, striking him several times in the body, but also across the face. It all culminated when Kakashi grabbed Naruto's arms, picked him up, and swung him into the ground, causing a spine-aching thud to be heard by the other two Genin, who merely looked at the fight with pitched panic. Kakashi then tossed Naruto beside the nearby river, sighing as he shook his head. The blond mentally slapped himself.

'Well, I definitely didn't think that one through,' Naruto thought as he crawled into the river water, trying to use the current to get farther away from Kakashi. As he sunk under the surface and was swept away, he could hear Kakashi's idle comments from where he last stood.

"You know, that was a pretty stupid idea," he said, the Icha-Icha Paradise book just then landing in the dirt beside the tree. "I've already read that book several times, and they're so cheap nowadays that I could run into town and buy another copy just by using some spare change I might find in my pockets." Kakashi then shook his head. "Still, it would've been a good idea back then, not so much now…" he said with a small chuckle. "Unlike with others before you, I'm taking this test seriously, because this time this group has much potential, and I'd like to see if any of you had the chance to honestly become a student of mine."

He then shrugged. "But seeing as how you're basically floating down the river, I don't have to worry about you… I can start focusing on the others," he said with a light chuckle, immediately catching Sasuke's and Sakura's ears.

Sasuke and Sakura looked at Kakashi with a new level of panic… this guy… he was powerful, he was fast… maybe they were in over their heads. Sasuke, however, was about to strike when all of a sudden Kakashi spoke. "Well, I guess its time for me to find the other two and see if they can pass…" the scarecrow said in an off-handed tone, after which there was a great amount of movement in the spots where he had felt Sasuke and Sakura earlier. The Jonin laughed lightly as the two bolted off. "Oh, this will be fun…" he said as he strode off into the woods, following Sasuke.

Moments after Kakashi left, Naruto surfaced from the river, a ways down from where he started, and immediately attached himself to the bank, rolling onto his back as he did. He sucked as much air as he could into his, trying to regain his breath while the pain died down from the hits Kakashi landed on his torso as he lay there. He'd go after him again soon… but that would be quite a while, and he wasn't greatly anxious for another beat down.

Meanwhile, deep in the forest, Sasuke worked at a feverish pace in order to set up his own confrontation with Kakashi. Though he had just watched Naruto get beaten to a pulp by the Jonin, the Uchiha still held out hope that his own set of skills would be good enough to beat Kakashi, and get a bell for himself. With the kunai and shuriken set and ready, Sasuke now just patiently waited for the Jonin to show up.

Sasuke didn't have to wait long. Within seconds Kakashi strode into the clearing, looking around for the remaining Genin. He had felt Sasuke sneak into the immediate area and had a pretty clear idea as to where the young boy was. Though that was how he felt about Naruto earlier… but then again, he highly doubted that Sasuke had the same stealth abilities as the young Uzumaki. His suspicions were confirmed when, from the area he had pinpointed the Genin, several shuriken and kunai came his way.

"Really? If I'm not mistaken your teammate just tried this, and with disastrous results," Kakashi said casually as he leapt away from the spot they were aimed at, not bothering to block them this time. Pulling out his own kunai, he noticed Sasuke hiding in the bushes. He was about to throw it at the black-haired ninja, when he noticed Sasuke cutting a wire with one of his remaining kunai.

'A trap?' Kakashi thought to himself with a somewhat surprised tone as suddenly several kunai and shuriken came his way. The Jonin quickly forced a landing, dragging his feet on the ground to stop his forward momentum, using his kunai to deflect as many of the projectiles as he could, while allowing some to graze his arms and legs. As he was doing this, Sasuke suddenly rushed towards him, two kunai firmly grasped within his hands. 'A slightly modified version of Naruto's plan… he must be confident," Kakashi thought as he attempted to swat Sasuke away with the kunai in his hand, only to have Sasuke knock it away with his own.

From there it became a small duel of Taijutsu, with Sasuke swiping at Kakashi with his two kunai while Kakashi ducked, dodged, and blocked every one of Sasuke's attempts at offense. Suddenly, Sasuke pivoted on his leg, quickly turning to deliver a round-house kick to Kakashi's right side, which the Jonin skillfully blocked. The acclaimed genius ground his teeth as he used both his momentum and Kakashi's to his advantage, twisting to try and deliver a kick to the top of the Jonin's head, which the one-eyed man merely blocked again. Sasuke saw his moment of opportunity and, using one of the kunai in his hands, he cut the bells from Kakashi's belt.

Kakashi's eye widened considerably as he watched Sasuke drop the other kunai in order to make a grab for the falling bells. He quickly grabbed both of Sasuke's legs and swung Sasuke front side first into the ground behind him, the force of the blow causing a quite painful 'crunch' to be heard. The Uchiha gasped for breath as he turned onto his back, grabbing his chest as he fought to catch his breath, sitting up as he did. Kakashi, for a moment, was worried that in his split second reaction, he over-reacted, though, upon seeing Sasuke slowly sit up, he merely reached down and grabbed the bells on the ground, before leaping a ways away.

"I have to admit, you were even closer to getting these than Naruto," he said as he pulled out some of his own ninja wire, using it to retie the bells to his belt. "Had I reacted a second later, you could've grabbed one, maybe even both," he said in a taunting manner, causing Sasuke to glare at him with great rage as he slowly stood up. "Yet, as I told Naruto, close won't cut it in the ninja world," he said with a light chuckle as Sasuke growled.

"I'll show you close!" Sasuke shouted as he brought his hands in front of him and began making seals. For a second time, Kakashi witnessed something he didn't think he'd see out of this fight: a Genin using a fire style attack.

'A Genin shouldn't have enough chakra to do this technique!' he thought to himself as he began doing his own seals. Yet despite this, Kakashi couldn't finish before Sasuke.

"Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" the young Uchiha shouted as he brought his fingers to his lips, expelling breath from his body that turned into a stream of fire, aimed right at Kakashi. Soon the area where Kakashi once stood was engulfed in flames, Sasuke's fireball roasting everything there, including the earth. As Sasuke felt he had done enough, he released the jutsu, ending the fire stream. Though imagine his surprise when he saw nothing there but mere ashes. "What? Where did h-" Sasuke never finished that sentence since right at that moment, a certain Jounin's elbow struck Sasuke in the back of the head.

Kakashi stood over a semi-unconscious Sasuke, sighing as he shook his head. "I'll say that this was almost as entertaining as my confrontation with Naruto. You, a Genin, using a C-Rank jutsu: a rare occurrence if there ever was one," the scarecrow said before shaking his head. "Still, you really didn't see a Replacement Jutsu coming? Looks like you were a bit overconfident when you tried to burn me…" he continued with a small chuckle as he walked away from Sasuke, heading back into the forest. "Now… where's pinky?" Kakashi commented in a nonchalant manner as he walked off, looking around for the last of his would be students.

Said student, Sakura, was currently running around the forest, looking desperately for a place to hide. She knew that there was no way that she, by herself, would be able to beat Kakashi, and was looking for a place to hide till Sasuke, or if needed, Naruto came by. At this point she didn't care if she didn't like the blond; she was going to need help. She suddenly stopped in a grouping of leaves in the trees, looking around quickly before forming the Ram seal. "Transform," she whispered as suddenly a little bit of smoke surrounded her, her skin suddenly turning into a similar color and pattern as the leaves around her.

'I'll just wait like this. Kakashi shouldn't see me, and if Sasuke or Naruto stop by, I'll be able to dispel the jutsu and ask for help,' she thought as she steadied her breath and began waiting, now glad she had paid attention during all those trips to the forest. She sat there for several seconds, waiting patiently for some kind of change. The pink-haired Genin sighed silently before she heard a twig snap, her eyes snapping open as they looked from side to side.

"Sakura, I'm right behind you," she heard Sasuke's voice say from behind her. Immediately her eyes snapped open in happiness as she quickly turned, dispelling her illusion.

"Sasuke-ku-" she began, her eyes widening immediately as she saw who was actually behind her. Kakashi sat there… his eye staring at her as he raised his hand in a wave.

"Hi," he said in a somewhat light tone, as Sakura tried to scream. She could only try because the second she opened her mouth, Kakashi rammed his palm into her forehead. She fell from the treetops, landing hard on the ground as her eyes spun in circles, a huge palm-print on her forehead. Kakashi blinked as he looked down at Sakura, raising his only visible eyebrow as he shrugged.

"Huh, that wasn't fun at all…" he said as he dropped from the trees and onto the ground beside Sakura. He looked through the tree leaves and at the sky, looking at the position of the sun. "By the looks of it… they have about an hour left… that means I don't have to wait for much longer." he said to himself, placing his hands into his pockets as he walked off. "I guess I'll just wait for them for now…" he said as he headed off to yet another clearing, awaiting the arrival of the Genin once again.

It took each of the Genin a while to recover from their individual beatings, Naruto being the first to get up. He grabbed his chest in a pained manner as he stood up, having laid there for several minutes waiting for it to die down enough for him to move. He sighed as he began walking off, trying to find Kakashi again… he might as well give it another go, or else he'd just end up back at the Academy. Naruto actually found it somewhat easy to track Kakashi; after all, he noticed that the Jonin smelt an awful lot like dog, and the smell was easily traceable in the wind.

Sasuke, moments later, also recovered from his temporary case of 'knocked right the hell out' disease. He began moving as well, slowly moving in the same direction Naruto was. He could feel Kakashi all the way out there; he could sense his chakra. He had to pass… if he couldn't beat this guy… how could he kill… him? He slowly marched through the woods, and before long, he heard footsteps right beside him. He drew one of his last kunai and aimed it towards the sound, but immediately saw Naruto…

His anger was in no way dissipated by this, somewhat, relieving sight. "What the hell are you doing up, dobe? The Jonin kicked your ass…" he said with an ache audible in his voice. Naruto, though insulted, could only smirk back at his beleaguered rival.

"Look who's talking. You look like you can barely stand, much less put up a fight," the blond countered to the Uchiha, causing Sasuke's eye to twitch.

"Whatever, dobe. It's not as if it matters. I'll get a bell, even if you ruined my initial attack…" Sasuke said, causing Naruto to flinch a little bit.

"Wh-what do you mean, bastard?! I didn't do squat to any 'attack' of yours!" Naruto snapped as Sasuke scoffed.

"I had a plan right from the very beginning to handle Kakashi. If you hadn't jumped the gun and tried to play top dog I would've been able to-" Sasuke began before Naruto immediately began shouting.

"Oh don't even try to play it like that bastard! You didn't have squat, I was the only one who had a reasonable idea on how to fight the Cyclops freak!" Naruto shouted as a throbbing vein forced its way to Sasuke's forehead.

"Yeah right, idiot!" Sasuke shouted, as Naruto immediately returned with an equally childish insult.

"Jerk!"

"Baka!"

"Teme yarou!"

Just as the two were about to strangle each other, they suddenly felt someone walking towards them nearby. They turned their heads and saw Sakura slowly walking over towards them, her head bent down as she came closer. Sasuke and Naruto blew her off for a moment, and momentarily resumed their shouting match… until they felt… a dark presence, one that chilled both Sasuke's and Naruto's spines.

The two turned their heads and immediately paled, as what they saw was not what they were expecting. It was Sakura, with a large red palm print on her forehead. Her eyes seemed like they were on fire, and it looked as though a dark aura had completely engulfed her. She came closer to them, and grabbed both of them by their collar, not knowing that it was now 'Inner-Sakura' who controlled the reins.

"Look… I like you…" she said softly as she nodded towards Sasuke. "… I don't like you…" she said, nodding towards Naruto. "…I'm going to ask you two something… did we not just get our asses kicked by some insane Jounin?" the pink-haired embodiment of rage asked as both merely nodded. "Are we not just a mere half-hour away from being sent back to the Academy?" she asked, grinding her teeth together so that it made an audible noise, both nodding again, only more slowly.

"Then… answer me this… why are you two standing here… **WASTING YOUR TIME BY SHOUTING AT EACH OTHER!!!!**" she screamed, Naruto and Sasuke paling considerably. "**NOW I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU TWO, BUT I DO NOT WANT TO GO BACK TO THE ACADEMY! SO IF YOU TWO WOULD PLEASE STOP HAVING THIS RIDICULOUS COCK FIGHT, WE CAN FIND A WAY TO PASS THIS FUCKING TEST AND STAY GENIN!!!!!!!!**" she shouted as she let both boys go.

At that point, Naruto and Sasuke were both nearly frozen in fear. They had seen some bad stuff, but that was the last thing either expected to see: Sakura, Sasuke-loving Sakura, shouting at both of them and damn near biting their heads off! Naruto would be pretty much scarred for life, and Sasuke was shaken enough to the point where he nodded and was the first to sit, Naruto following him.

"Ye-yeah, we should work together," Naruto said, Sasuke nodding as Sakura took one last deep breath and looked back up at both of them.

"Well… what do we do? I mean, none of our best skills could beat him… I mean, I couldn't outsmart him…" she said as Naruto nodded.

"I couldn't even trick him…" the blond said as Sasuke looked at both, before sighing.

"And as much as it hurts to say this, I couldn't fight him off…" the Uchiha said as he looked at both his teammates. "So… if we couldn't beat him separately… is there a way we could beat him together?" he asked as both Naruto and Sakura sat there… all three Genin putting their heads together. Suddenly, all three's eyes snapped open and looked at each other.

"I have an idea!" all three said, though Sasuke was far less excited, as they began discussing with each other.

---------- Fifteen Minutes Later----------

Kakashi yawned lightly as he checked the sun again. They had five minutes, ten at the most, to get over here and try and beat him for the bells. He knew they'd fail, though. He had no faith that any one of them could attack him in such a manner that they could make an honest grab for one of the two bells. He sighed again as he scratched the back of his head. 'Another group of kids, another non-existent 'team',' he thought scornfully as he looked up. 'I had such high hopes for this one too… oh well.' Suddenly, he heard something come out of the bushes. He looked down and saw Sakura standing there, shaking slightly as she held several kunai and shuriken in her hands.

"Well, well, looks like pinky's the gutsy one in the group," Kakashi said as he began walking towards her, causing Sakura to bring up the kunai and shuriken. "… Please…" Kakashi said as he shook his head, which caused Sakura to throw the weapons… everywhere but at Kakashi. The kunai and shuriken embedded themselves all over the clearing; in trees, in the ground, everywhere. Kakashi's eyebrow rose as he looked at Sakura. "Maybe I hit you a little harder than I thought…" he said as Sakura ran out of weapons, and jumped up into the treetops.

Kakashi sighed as he walked towards the area Sakura ran, before finding himself unable to move further than a couple inches. He looked down at the area in front of him, and saw little glints of light. 'Ninja wire?' he thought to himself as he looked at the kunai and shuriken. 'If they're only secured at one end, they shouldn't be this…' Kakashi began thinking before his eye suddenly widened. Before he could act, from the area behind where Sakura stood, dozens of Naruto clones, each holding a single wire, began leaping out and around the clearing, pulling their ninja wire tight and around Kakashi.

The Jonin grunted as his arms were forced stuck beside his chest, his legs captured in the ninja wire wrap as the clones continued to jump around and wrap the wire even tighter around him. Suddenly, the kunai and shuriken gave out from their positions, and flew towards Kakashi. The Jonin gave a small grunt of pain as the kunai and shuriken embedded themselves in his arms, legs, and his Jonin flak jacket as the clones continued to wrap the wire tighter. The Naruto clones suddenly converged at one point, each one disappearing as they left their wire hanging in one spot with the others. When the very last Naruto jumped by, he ran back into the woods with Sakura, leaving Kakashi trapped, wrapped up by ninja wire. He was about to make another attempt at breaking the wires, when Sasuke jumped out from his hiding place and grabbed the bundle of wire ends the clones left him. He smirked at Kakashi as he brought both of his hands together, causing Kakashi's nerves to jump as he struggled to bring his hands together.

Sasuke, however, had no intention of giving Kakashi a chance to act, and began flashing the seals for his jutsu while keeping the wire secure between his fingers. When he finished, he once again brought his fingers to his lips, keeping the ninja wire in those specific fingers as he did. "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted as he blew an enormous fireball towards Kakashi, the Jonin only just then beginning his own set of hand seals.

The fireball struck the spot where Kakashi stood, a pyre of flame jumping into the air as a small shockwave rocked the area. Sasuke let go of the wire and looked at his handiwork, Naruto and Sakura walking out of the woods as they gazed at the fireball. "Did ya hit him?" Naruto asked. Sasuke nodded with a small smile.

"Yeah, I think we got him this time…" he said with a budding excitement in his voice as, in a moment of victory, all three Genin, whether they liked each other or not, clapped their hands together.

"Alright! Now all we have to do is get the bells and then decide… or fight… amongst ourselves as to who gets them!" Naruto shouted, whispering the 'or fight' part under his breath, though Sakura and Sasuke had a feeling that fighting for the bells would've been an option if they succeeded.

"Wait guys, shouldn't we be more concerned about him? I mean, that fireball did look awfully big…" Sakura said slowly as Sasuke shrugged.

"Whatever, he's a Jonin, if he can't handle a fireball being launched at him then-." whatever Sasuke was about to say was interrupted when the fire suddenly cleared… to reveal a pile of smoking ash, causing all three Genin to sweat drop. Sasuke immediately knew what happened; his teammates, on the other hand…

"OH MY GOD, WE KILLED HIM! WE TOOK OUR SENSEI AND BURNT HIM TO ASH!" Sakura shouted in a panic as she held onto her head, Naruto looking at the ashes in panic.

"Lo-look, here's our story, cause we'll need one for something like this: we weren't here, we never saw him, we don't even know a Kakashi, we were just out here having some fun!" Naruto shouted, thought not nearly as loud as Sakura looked over at him.

"What do we do about the ashes, we can't just explain that away!" she shouted, before Naruto pointed to the nearby river.

"We'll dump the ashes into the river, no one will ever know!" Naruto shouted, Sakura nodding as she was about ready to gather up the ashes, before Sasuke hit them both across the head. "Ow! What was that for!?" Naruto shouted, as Sakura looked at Sasuke with a hurt look before the Uchiha sighed.

"Hey geniuses, we didn't burn him to death... he replaced himself with a log…" Sasuke said as Naruto and Sakura both looked back towards the ash pile, before hearing clapping noises from the other side of the clearing. All three Genin looked over, and grimaced when they saw Kakashi, standing there, the two bells still tied to his belt… though, he was worse for wear, as sighted by the fact he was still pulling kunai and shuriken out of his arms.

"Well done. I must say that was quite the show," Kakashi said as all three Genin sighed, having failed yet again. "Plus, would you look at what time it is?" he said, pointing up directly above him. No one of them had to look up to guess what he meant; he meant that time was up, the sun was at its apex… they failed. "Well, come with me to the logs… unless you want me to drag you there," Kakashi said in a threatening tone, all three children willingly following him back to the log area.

---------- Back at the Logs ----------

A few minutes later, the group arrived back at the clearing with the three logs standing in front of some kind of monument. The four lunches, somehow still warm, sat there, teasing the hungry Genin, though at the moment they were in either too much pain from earlier beatings or in too much grief over failing to care. Kakashi had them sit in front of the three logs, before he himself sat in front of them, looking them each in the eyes, or, if you prefer, eye.

"Alright… before I tie you up, would you mind telling me about what you learned?" he asked in a serious tone, drawing confused looks from all three Genin. Kakashi sighed as he pointed to Sakura. "You, Sakura," he said, shocking Sakura, as before he really only referred to her as 'you'. "Tell me… why were you all so unsuccessful in the beginning?" he asked. Sakura, though still confused, managed an answer.

"We… depending too much on our own individual skills, we thought we could beat you on our own… even if we knew how much of a superior opponent you were…" the pink-haired Genin said slowly as Kakashi nodded, pointing to Naruto.

"What made you realize you weren't enough on your own, Naruto?" Naruto tapped his chin in thought. The blond wanted to say 'Sakura scared the crap out of me' but that wouldn't be an answer.

"Well, we… we saw how stupid our efforts were, we saw how badly we were beaten when we tried to take you down on our own…" he said slowly. Kakashi again nodded, finally pointing to Sasuke.

"Teamwork sure made a difference… eh, Sasuke?" the Jonin asked, the black-haired young man scoffing… before nodding in defeat moments later.

"When we brought our individual skills together and tried fighting you as a unit, we were open to more strategies than we would've had on our own… we were open to more ideas than we would have been on our own…" he said, Kakashi again nodding as shrugged.

"So, do you think you might've gotten the bells earlier if you had acted like a team at first?" he asked, all three Genin nodding solemnly in response, a small smile forming under Kakashi's mask. So… they figured it out. "Well then, I guess there's only one thing left for me to do" he said, all three Genin scooting closer to the logs, prepared to be tied up…

Imagine their surprise when suddenly three of the four lunches were tossed into their laps, Kakashi opening up the fourth and eating it himself. "Get a good meal, get plenty of rest tonight, and show up at our meeting place at 6:00 in the morning. You should be able to find its location at the Hokage Tower," Kakashi said as he took a bite of food, all three Genin staring at him in a dumbfounded manner, before he sighed. "Do I have to say it more plainly?" he asked, before his smile reached his eye, his mask visibly moving as the smile that had been hidden there moved to his eye. "You passed," he said, drawing highly confused gazes from all three Genin.

"… WHAT?!" all three shouted at once as Kakashi laughed.

"The bells, ah, they were only a distraction from the real test… I wanted to see if you all could, willingly, act together as a team. Your final display that nearly burnt me to death… while dangerous to my health, was exactly what I was looking for, so you pass. You're Genin," he said as he took another bite of food, all three kids looking at each other, and then at Kakashi, and then at each other… before Sakura and Naruto nearly spilt their lunch from jumping up in celebration. Sasuke was content to just sit and smirk lightly while beginning to open the box of food, actually entertained by his teammates display.

From this day forward, Team 7 was officially formed, and only Kami knew what was in store for the small group……

Omake

Kakashi Speaking- _Hello_

Naruto Speaking- Hello

Sasuke Speaking- **Hello**

Fangirls Speaking- Hello

Sakura Speaking- **Hello**

Zabuza Speaking- _Hello_

Haku Speaking- _**Hello**_

All three Genin- _**Hello**_

Today was the first day of training for Team 7, as they were all gathered in the middle of the same clearing they had been tested in. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were all standing in a row, as Kakashi stood in front of them, staring over each and every one of them. Before any of the Genin could speak, there was music filling the air suddenly. All three of them looked around in a confused manner, wondering where the tune was coming from, before Kakashi began… singing.

"_Let's get down to business._

_To make you – a team_!"

He began, with Naruto being the first to pick up on what was going on.

"I think that I can do this!"

"_Ha! In – your dream!_

_You're the saddest bunch I've ever met_

_But you can bet, before we're though_

_Children I'll, make some men,_

_Out of you_!"

He declared, Sakura deciding to remain quiet about the fact that she was a girl, a little spooked out by Kakashi's, and Naruto's, sudden singing.

--------- Ten minutes later ----------

Kakashi had the Genin holding their hands in the Tiger seal, focusing their chakra in their bodies.

"_Now make the tiger-seal_

_Practice helps, your zeal_!"

He said as suddenly Naruto became engulfed in warm chakra.

"Hey I think I got it!"

He said, before noticing a rabbit suddenly enter the clearing, causing him to lose focus.

"Oh look a – free meal!"

He began walking away, but Sasuke and Sakura proceeded to beat him over the head till he was limp, Sasuke for having broken the exercise, Sakura for him having tried to eat a rabbit. They all looked up at Kakashi, who merely shook his head, pointing to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura in that respective order.

"_You're a spineless, pale, pathetic lot_

_And you haven't got a clue_

_Somehow I'll, make some men_

_Out of you_!"

---------- A Half-Hour Later ---------

By this time Kakashi had seriously turned up the heat on the Genin, Naruto was lifting amazingly heavy waits, Sasuke was sparring with Kakashi, and being beaten badly, while Sakura was running her fiftieth lap.

"Oh my God this is worse than death!"

"**To this guy I can't hold a candle!**"

"**Man I really hope Sasuke will be okay!**"

--------- An Hour Later --------

By now all three Genin were on the ground, practically dieing, while Kakashi surveyed them.

"_What's wrong children out of breath_?"

"**Fangirls were easier to handle!**"

"Boy Sasuke we're really glad you're not gay!"

Several voices said from behind Sasuke, as the brooding ninja turned to see a whole bunch of his old fangirls leap on him, dragging him into the bushes: the Uchiha screaming 'DEAR GOD NOT LIKE THIS' as he was dragged away.

BE A MAN!

"_You must be swift as a coursing river_!"

BE A MAN!

"_With all the force of a great typhoon_!"

BE A MAN!

"_With all the strength of a raging fire_

_Mysterious as, the dark side of, the moon_!"

--------- In another forest ---------

However, somewhere in Wave Country, another group was practicing, two people, with one of them giant and another… that looked like a girl.

"_**Time is racing forward**_

_**Until we, arrive**_**!**"

Haku shouted, as he ducked yet another slice of Zabuza's sword.

"_Shut the hell up Haku_!

_And we might, survive_!"

Haku looked over himself for a moment, before looking back up at Zabuza.

"_**Sir will they think I'm a girl**_**?"**

"_Yes Haku yes they will_!"

With that, Haku suddenly used a Transformation Jutsu… but was dressed up in a frilly pink dress.

"_**How bout now**_**?"**

"_Yes God damn, it Haku_!"

---------- Back in Konoha ---------

BE A MAN!

Kakashi watched his students with a small hint of pride in his eyes, as they suddenly appeared to be getting the hang of training.

"_You must be swift as a coursing river_!"

BE A MAN!

"_With all the force of a great typhoon_!"

BE A MAN!

"_With all the strength of a raging fire_

_Mysterious as, the dark side of, the moon_!"

BE A MAN!

"I must be swift as a coursing river!"

BE A MAN!

"**With all the force of a great typhoon!**"

BE A MAN!

"**With all the strength of a raging fire!**"

"_**Mysterious as, the dark side of, the moon**_**!"**

As the tune died down, and the music disappeared, all three Genin looked around, Naruto turning excitedly towards Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei, does this mean we're done?"

Naruto asked, Kakashi giving them a smile before shaking his head no.

"_Not even close_."

He said, causing all three Genin to suddenly collapse, the Jonin chuckling a little bit as he yawned.

('Make a Man out of You' is Property of Mulan and Disney Studios, Arganaut only takes claim for this Omaked version of the song, and does not aim to make any money off of it)

Second Omake (by Paintball-Gamer): Adventures with Kunai

'I'll just wait like this. Kakashi shouldn't see me, and if Sasuke or Naruto stop by, I'll be able to dispel the jutsu and ask for help,' Sakura thought as she steadied her breath and began waiting, now glad she had paid attention during all those trips to the forest. She sat there for several seconds, waiting patiently for some kind of change.

Just then, however, she noticed a kunai embedded into the tree limb she stood on. Probably left over from another team's training session. 'I should get that out, though; it's not good for the tree,' thought Sakura as she knelt down and began tugging at the kunai, which was stuck in pretty deep, completely unaware of a certain person's arrival behind her.

"Sakura, I'm right behind you," came Sasuke's voice from behind her. However, Sakura didn't react at all, so focused was she on getting the kunai out of the tree limb. It was turning out to be quite a stubborn kunai. Kakashi, seeing no results, spoke up louder. "Sakura, behind you!" Again, he got no response.

'What is she doing that so completely has her attention like this?' Wondered the Jonin as he moved to peer over her shoulder, which happened to be at the same moment Sakura gave a final mighty pull.

"Got it!" Sakura yelled triumphantly as she wrenched the kunai free –

BAM!

- and inadvertently slammed the butt of it right between Kakashi's eyes with the force of the pull, knocking him silly and causing him to fall off the branch and hit the ground hard, knocking him fully unconscious.

"Huh?" said Sakura as she heard a loud thump below her. Looking down, she saw Kakashi's unconscious form sprawled on the ground beneath her.

"What do you know, I beat him!" she cheered.

(Special thanks to The Red Green Show for the sketch that inspired this omake)

R&R


	17. Chapter 17

Naruto: Alone

Hey there people, its me Arganaut (I know, you're probably surprised to see me so soon), and I'm here with the next chapter of Naruto: Alone. Well... technically its not the next chapter, but its a kind of special bonus chapter. Now, as you all probably know, many days ago was April Fools Day, a holiday in which everyone I know has played embarrassing or painful pranks on me all day. However, in order to get my mind off of the mindless fun that today often represents (even for me), I've decided to write a April Fools Day themed chapter of Naruto Alone. It might be VERY late, but hey, better late than never.

**BIG NOTE: THIS CHAPTER WILL HAVE NO IMPACT UPON FUTURE PLOT! THINK OF THIS CHAPTER AS FILLER, OR IF YOU PREFER, ONE BIG OMAKE THAT WAS TOO BIG TO BE A SUBSECTION!**

**SO PLEASE, JUST ENJOY THE CHAPTER, DON'T TAKE IT TOO SERIOUSLY!**

Anyway, since I do not wish to waste time, I won't be responding to reviews from the previous chapter (don't worry, you'll get your responses next chapter). So, let's get on our way with the April Fools Themed Chapter of Naruto: Alone!!!!!!:

Also, HAPPY EASTER!

Chapter 17: Konoha Fool's Day!

---------- Two Weeks Later ----------

It was early in the morning in Konoha, far too early for sensible people to have been waking up, as a slow, yet purposeful, movement began throughout the village. They moved at varying speeds, some moved as quick as the wind, others trudged at a pace that snails would be easily able to lap. These people, or, more fittingly, young persons, were Genin of Konoha, and they were off to meet their Jounin-sensei. It was still a relatively new experience for these young ninja, after all, the Academy they had gone to little more than two weeks ago wouldn't be starting for hours from then, so it was such a sudden shift in sleeping schedule for them, firstly. Second of all, these Genin were also forced to deal with some rather harsh, and in some cases, creative training exercises from their respective sensei, exercises that would often leave them low and dry by evening, and sore and in pain by the time they woke up.

Three of these particular Genin would be the focus of our story as it currently was: Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki, all members of Kakashi Hatake's Team 7. Quite honestly, they were surprised by paces their teacher had been placing them through. Kakashi had been quite serious when he said he saw potential in these three, and had been putting them through serious amounts of training. They hadn't gone on any missions yet, as Kakashi merely stated that 'We need to get you into a proper shape before get you on missions'. This statement, however, only furthered to excite the Genin on the future prospects of their missions. However, until their first mission, the three went about the grueling training process. Of course, other things went on in the team. Sakura had come back, somewhat, from her power trip towards the end of the bell test, calming considerably the first day of training. However, as both Naruto and Sasuke would quickly figure out, that didn't mean they were out of the woods. There would be times, especially when Sasuke and Naruto would get into heated arguments over nothing, that the two would feel that chill run down their spine again, and immediately cool their jets.

It was an interesting occurrence, one that helped to keep the two boys in line.

Despite this, there was very little change in the dynamic of the team relationships, as Sasuke was still annoyed with Sakura and Naruto, Naruto was annoyed with Sasuke and Sakura, and Sakura liked Sasuke and was annoyed with Naruto. Kakashi, while unsatisfied with how the current relationship kept the team from working together to its fullest potential, found that he could do little to nothing to stop this. After all, Sasuke was an emotionally wrecked kid who's attention centered around killing his brother and training, Naruto was a socially inept ex-thief, who had two settings when it came to relationships: either people hated him, or worshiped him in a fan club. Sakura... well, she was odd because she was the only normal kid in the group. Kakashi, the emotionally and socially unskilled man that he was, had few ideas on how to even begin fixing this tangled web.

At any rate, said Genin were now walking towards their normal meeting place, a small bridge towards the edge of town. Since the beginning of their training, the three would gather here early in the morning, every morning, while they waited for Kakashi to show up. They waited for him, because he always somehow managed to show up several hours late. Though it annoyed them, they really couldn't get much of an answer out of Kakashi as to why he could be late and they couldn't, as he'd just make up excuses as to why he was late... bad excuses.

Sakura would arrive first, a half-hour earlier, as always, and leaned against the railing of the bridge. This was mostly because she didn't train so early in the morning, and because of its location near her family's house. She'd be stuck waiting there alone for a few minutes, until Sasuke arrived. The Uchiha's daily training began even before Kakashi had them start later in the day, as Sasuke would practice with his family arts for an hour before coming. You'd never know this, however, as the boy hardly looked worse for the experience. Sasuke would usually be able to enjoy silence on the bridge for a while, actually, as Sakura would be too tired so early in the morning to talk too much. Still, she was slowly getting used to waking up so early in the morning, and was starting to talk to him earlier and earlier in the morning.

Then Naruto would arrive last, about one minute before they would be considered late, as per usual. Now, Naruto the reason why Naruto took so long to get to the bridge, well, longer than his other two teammates, was the simple matter of breakfast. Since the team hadn't gone onto any missions, they hadn't been able to be paid, so Naruto was still unable to pay for food. He couldn't steal food, since it was so early in the morning and all the shops were closed, so he hunted small animals for his breakfast. He never brought the food to the bridge, however, as the first, and last, time he did it earned him a smack down from Sakura... maybe telling her it was a rabbit wasn't the most helpful thing in the world.

When all three arrived, it would generally be silent for the first hour, with only glances being exchanged between the three. However, it would soon enough get to the normal routine: Sakura tries talking to Sasuke, Sasuke would make derisive comments on Naruto's performance during training yesterday, Naruto would shout back insults towards the Uchiha, and the pink-haired kunoichi would then try to stop them by either asking Sasuke to calm down, or by nagging at Naruto. Still, even if things weren't entirely different, there was a lightness about the group that didn't exist in the Academy days, likely the goodwill that had been built up by the Bell Test still felt by the three of them. They may have argued, but it wasn't as heated as the old days.

This would go on for a while, and then Kakashi would arrive and they'd begin training. At any rate, it was now the meeting time at the bridge, and the three Genin had shown up, ready to wait for what would likely be the three or four hours it would take Kakashi to show up. It was very silent at first, though today the silence would not last. They heard someone walking across the bridge, all three students looking over to see the source of the noise, knowing it was unusual for someone to be coming this way so early. Imagine their surprise when they saw Kakashi standing there, his eye curved at his students.

All three stared blankly at Kakashi, before Sakura began walking over to her sensei. "K-Kakashi-sensei, that you?" She stammered, still unable to believe that he was here. "Are you actually going to start coming on ti-" The pink-haired ninja began, before suddenly Kakashi blew up in a plume of smoke. All three Genin coughed as the smoke left their lungs, looking over to the spot their sensei had stood to see what had happened... before Sakura and Sasuke slapped themselves on the forehead, Naruto settling for a very annoyed expression.

What remained in the plume of smoke was a small sign, stuck right in the middle of the bridge, with a small chibi-fied portrait of Kakashi giving the Genin a thumbs up, the words 'Konoha Fools' written in bright colors above the picture.

Konoha Fools Day had come again, the three had just been too tired to remember. All the ninja in Konoha on this day were usually given the day off from missions and training, for good reason.

You see, around the time Konoha was first founded by the First and Second Hokage, they instituted a day of peaked stealth training. The objective of the day would be to sneak into as many homes they could, and lay complex traps, before leaving. The person who could do this the most successfully, without being caught, would become 'King of Stealth'. The two Hokage thought that the art of stealth was very much needed in the old days, as many of the powerful ninja techniques that modern ninja take for granted were not developed then.

However, as time wore on the need for the training day began to wane, as hand-to-hand combat with complex jutsu became more desired. Eventually, the day of training ceased to exist, as the Third Hokage decided that the day could be used to train other skills. However, under the Fourth Hokage, the day was re-instituted. The Fourth Hokage, very much skilled with the day's events, was disappointed in its removal, as he had used the day more for fun and messing with people than he had actual training. So, under his leadership, he recreated the day, though he placed it under a name more fitting for the modern day, Konoha Fools Day. Instead of dangerous traps, funny pranks would be played upon the various citizen and ninja populace, and instead of 'King of Stealth' the person who played the most pranks would be titled 'King Fool'. The Fourth also decided that the holiday would still allow ninja to take the day off from normal training and work in order to participate.

When the Fourth died, and Sarutobi took over as the Hokage once more, he decided to keep the holiday in place. Peace had taken over the ninja world after the Kyuubi's sealing, and like many other holidays that had been kept or implemented by the Third and Fourth, Sarutobi thought it would be a good way to keep his ninja populace happy.

Sasuke and Sakura quickly left the bridge, ready to head home. Sakura wanted some more sleep before starting the day, and Sasuke wanted to get more training done if Kakashi wouldn't train them today. Naruto... Naruto was just going to head back to his place and ride out the rest of the day. The blond ninja disliked this holiday for two reasons: one, people always took this day and pranked him from dawn until dusk. The pranks weren't cruel, but they were highly annoying. Secondly, whenever he would try to prank someone, he'd end up getting hit or berated for it. So, for a couple years now, he just went to his sanctuary to ride out the rest of the day.

However, fate would have it that Naruto would participate fully in this holiday today. Naruto continued to walk back towards his hide out, yawning as his mind slowly started getting him ready for a some more sleep before lunch. However, before he could even get off the main roads, he ran into someone he hadn't been expecting to see for the rest of the day. He bumped into Kakashi, who himself seemed very distracted in thought. "Eh, Kakashi-sensei?!" Naruto shouted in surprise, Kakashi's eye smiling as he waved at Naruto.

"Hello Naruto." He said, the blond blinking as he pointed at his teacher.

"What're you doing here?" Naruto asked, amazed at seeing the scarecrow up this early in the morning.

"Oh, I'm on my way to prank Maito Gai." Kakashi chuckled out, before noticing his student's confused look. "Riiiight, you don't him... never mind." He quickly coughed out before changing the subject. "So, who're you going out to prank today?" Kakashi quickly asked, Naruto scoffing as he turned his head.

"I'm not going through with this stupid day, I'm just going to my hideout and sleep..." The Genin said as he began walking away, Kakashi grabbing Naruto's shoulder as he looked curiously at him.

"Woah, woah, woah. Out of all the people I know, I'd think you with all your stealth would love today." The silver-haired Jounin commented, the blond snorting in derision.

"What's there to like? People prank the hell out of you, you get embarrassed for the entire day, and you can't prank back or else people will beat the shit out of you!" Naruto ranted as he swung his arms to the side. Kakashi tapped his masked chin as he watched, before smiling underneath his mask.

"Well, then consider this a training exercise for today." Kakashi began, immediately catching Naruto's attention. "I want you to prank as many people as possible, without being seen, and without being caught." The Jounin continued, before a small glint came to his eyes. "If you can do this... I'll pay for as much barbecue as you want later... we got a deal?" Kakashi asked as he looked down at the blond... before noticing he had suddenly disappeared. "... Naruto?" Kakashi suddenly blurted out as he looked around, before shrugging. "Well, at least he's a bit spirited now..." He said before chuckling evilly, pulling out a razor blade. "Time to do some trimming...."

Meanwhile, Naruto was jumping from rooftop to rooftop a few blocks away, smiling wildly as he began planning out a couple pranks... now... he'd need some dye, some rope, a shovel...

Time to 'visit' the marketplace...

---------- Sakura's House ----------

Sakura had laid back down when she got home, falling into a deep sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She could hardly believe it herself that she had forgotten that today was Konoha Fool's Day. Well, even if she forgot, she was extremely grateful for the extra sleep this would bring: the training was difficult, and very strenuous, and any amount of extra rest she could get was good enough for her. In her sleep she rolled over onto her side, yawning as her eyes began darting side to side, signifying she had entered a dream... and, to her, it was a good one.

It was a dream she had often now a days: she was in the middle of a fight with Ino in an arena in the shape of a heart, and the two were evenly tied. Sakura, however, would pull something sneaky, and knock Ino out cold. Sasuke would then jump into the arena, and move to hug her. It was one of her favorite dreams, but it always ended just before he hugged her... but this time he was getting closer, and closer. Just as Sakura was about to embrace her dream, Sasuke suddenly moved behind her... and began rubbing her scalp.

'Okay.... this has never happened before...' Sakura thought to herself as she felt her crush massaging her scalp.

"Ummm... Sasuke-kun... what are you doing?" The pink haired kunoichi asked curiously, as the dream Uchiha merely continued rubbing into her scalp, before bringing all of her hair up to the top of her head and rubbing it down onto her scalp. Needless to say, Sakura was confused: her dreams could be weird, but this never happened before. "Seriously Sasuke-kun, this is nice but..." She began, before noticing a burning feeling on the top of her head. "Sa-Sasuke-kun, that's starting to hurt..." She said as the burning sensation got worse. She turned to get Sasuke away from her, but saw that he was suddenly gone.

Before she could even try to analyze the dream's logic... her hair burst into flames as the burning intensified. "AAAAAH!!!" She screamed out as she rain around the dream-verse, trying to find some source of water.

Fortunately for her, she didn't have to. Sakura woke up a few seconds after her dream self's hair spontaneously combusted, sweating slightly as she sighed. For some reason, her scalp actually felt like it was burning a bit. Shrugging her shoulders, Sakura went into her bathroom and got into the shower, hoping that a cool rinse could get rid of the burning feeling. When she got out, she noticed that, while it wasn't entirely gone, the uncomfortable pain in her scalp had died down considerably. The kunoichi yawned once again as she walked over to her mirror, wandering if she could see what had caused the pain in the first place.

She slowly opened her eyes all the way to look at the mirror... and stared blankly at the reflective surface when she saw what was there..........

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs, in a pitch that could be heard all across Konoha, and perhaps even a few miles outside of its walls.

As the sun broke through the horizon and began to shine directly upon the ninja village, a certain blond Genin was laughing out loud as he made his get away from the scene of the crime. That... was.... AMAZING! The adrenaline, the trickery... the the shear hilarity of the moment! Now not only was he looking forward to the dinner later, he was looking forward to the next prank! Naruto snickered to himself as he began heading towards the Uchiha compound.

---------- Uchiha Compound ----------

Loud smacking noises could be hear coming from the central garden of the Uchiha clan compound, as Sasuke went about training himself to make up for the day off, slapping around a wooden training dummy to practice his Taijutsu. This is how Sasuke spent his mornings before going to meet his team, and his afternoons after training with his team: practicing by himself. Sasuke wasn't kidding when he said his life goal was to kill a certain someone: and he was very much dedicated to becoming strong enough to accomplish this goal.

He continued to beat around the training doll before he suddenly heard the gate at the front of the compound open and close, Sasuke's eyes immediately darting in that direction. He sighed as he began walking towards the front of the house, wondering who in the world would try and bother him so early in the morning, even if it was Konoha Fool's Day. He opened the front door, and looked around the front yard, trying to see if there was any damage done. There was no obvious sign of a prank... no obvious sign o- was that a tomato?

Sasuke blinked in surprise as he saw a tomato laying conspicuously a few feet away from the main gate. He got out from the doorway of his house and began walking over to it... did he drop it when he went shopping for supplies last night? It looked really fresh so likely not. As Sasuke got closer and closer to the tomato, it suddenly moved away from him. The Uchiha's eyes drooped as he raised his right eyebrow in derision, now seeing the ninja wire that was placed around the top of the tomato.

"Yeah right, like I'm about to fall for that..." Sasuke said as he walked away from the tomato, looking around for whoever was pulling the string. As he walked around, he suddenly felt the ground give way underneath him. "Oh shi-" He started to shout before he fell into a pit in the ground. There was a loud 'squish' when Sasuke hit the bottom of the hole, the onyx-eyed boy fearing he had really damaged something.

He opened his eyes... and sweat dropped when he saw that he had landed in a pool of tomatoes and tomato paste, slowly standing up as he looked around... and noticed the walls of the pit was covered in tomato paste. Sasuke tried to jump up out of the pit, but the paste stopped him from properly building up enough strength to jump out. Climbing was out of the question: the walls were perfectly straight up and flat, plus the paste would've caused him to slip anyway.

"Well... looks like I'm going to be stuck here for a little while..." Sasuke said with a loud sigh... before looking down at the tomatoes underneath him. He picked one up, rubbed off the small amounts of dirt on it, and then took a bite out of it. He tasted the bite for a few seconds before shrugging. "Could use a little salt..."

Naruto, meanwhile, was on a rooftop about 50 yards away, laughing his ass off as he pulled the tomato completely in. The blond shook his head as he threw the tomato away, standing up as he did. "Man, that was too easy... so easy.... now... I want to do more pranks!" Naruto shouted as he jumped away, beginning what would be The Street Fox's Reign of Terror!

The blond's pranks spread as quickly as the plague, as dozens of villagers soon felt the stinging annoyance of Naruto's fun. Kiba wound up being chased around town by his family's dogs, and several horny male cats, when he was covered in female cat-in-heat urine. It might've been a pain in the ass to follow around a cat all day, but hey, this made it worth it.

Shino's house ended up surrounded by frogs from the forest, to the great ire of the entire Aburame clan. As a natural hunter, Naruto find it more than easy to send out a ton of clones and just capture all the frogs needed to surround the place.

While Shikamaru's mom was cooking breakfast for the family, Naruto silently made his way into the house and dumped a few dozen small bags of sugar into the recipe, resulting in the normally bored and stoic Shikamaru being effected by the world's biggest sugar rush. Hell, he was practically vibrating all the way down the street. The marketplace was full of food and random items good for his pranks...

Speaking of food and pranks, Naruto ended up sneaking around the Akimichi household, waiting for them to prepare for a particularly large meal, and leave it unattended. When they left food alone, Naruto slithered into the kitchen, and pulled from his pockets several of the hottest peppers, and the spiciest spices he could find in the market, and dumped them down into the food. The blond ninja would later laugh as he could swear he saw the Akimichi's kitchen catch on fire after the meal.

The next stop for Naruto was the Hyuga's household, where he had a pretty simple prank set up in his idea. He didn't want to do anything too out of order to Hinata, as a former Street Fox Fan Club member, and friend, but still he needed to prank everyone of his former classmates... So, he ran up to the door, set something down on the front deck, knocked a few times on the door, and then jumped off. Naruto's luck came through when, from the door, Hinata emerged, looking for whomever knocked.

The shy girl was certainly very confused, and on her toes. She knew that today was Konoha Fool's Day, and knew that her clan compound was a very popular target for pranks. She almost considered activating her Byakugan in order to see if the person who knocked was nearby, before she noticed a delightful smell. She looked around again, before looking down, and saw a small bouquet of flowers. She blushed lightly as she knelt down and picked them up, smelling them again before checking a small card that was connected to the bouquet. The heiress' blush increased greatly when she read that it was from a 'secret admirer'.

Suddenly, Hinata's mind began reeling as it tried to figure out who this admirer may be. Soon, however, fantasies about it being Naruto reached her mind... and that sent the poor girl over the edge. With a blush that could only be described as 'Sharingan Red', she feinted right on the spot, dropping the flowers to the side.

Moments later, Naruto arrived at her side, his face showing emotions of confusion, worry and, admittedly, a bit of disappointment. "She feinted before the prank could even work." He said, before immediately kneeling over to place his hand on her forehead. "Oh well, I guess this counts... a little more than what I wanted." He said, looking around quickly, to make sure the coast was clear, before he picked Hinata up and carried into her house, placing her on the couch. With another quick check to make sure that no one had spotted him, he ran for the door, and quickly picked the flowers back up before dashing down the street. With a quick breath he looked at the bouquet and sighed. "It was a dumb idea anyway..." He said, tossing the flowers on the ground before walking away.

A few moments later, Ino suddenly emerged from behind a street corner, smiling to herself as she walked. Since it was a holiday today, she didn't have to either work in the flower shop, or do any training as a ninja, which left her free for the day. As she walked, however, the blond kunoichi soon came upon the flowers Naruto had tossed, not realizing he had tossed them. Picking them up and looking at the card, she squealed with joy as she very suddenly jumped in the air.

"A secret admirer, me?!" She shouted to herself, then garnering a bit of Naruto's attention from down the street. "Oh wow, it must be from Sasuke-kun!" She shouted again, as Naruto then turned his head to see the action clearly, his lips twitching a bit as a small smirk appearing on his face. The flower girl sighed dreamily as she brought the flowers to her face to smell them... only to be suddenly squirted in the face by a gush of water. Ino, enraged by this rather sudden prank, dropped the flowers on the ground, shaking her head side to side to get some of the water off.

Her eyes glared down at the plants with a fiery rage as she looked around for a possible culprit, Naruto having ran off after the water sprayed her. "DAMN IT THIS ISN'T FUNNY! THIS IS THE FIFTH KONOHA FOOL'S DAY THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME!" She shouted, before suddenly getting an idea. "IT MUST'VE BEEN SAKURA THIS TIME! I'M GOING TO DESTROY HER!" The enraged girl shouted as she ran off towards the Haruno residence, Naruto meanwhile laughing his ass off on a rooftop five blocks away.

"Oh man, that was great!" The prankster laughed out as he slapped his knee, desperately trying to gain some breath as he began to run out of air. That was the last of his classmates that had managed to become Genin, and he had to say, except Hinata, it had been a blast! As he laughed however, he was caught with an idea... why did this have to be the end? With his stealth skills, he could prank anyone in Konoha... and that's just what he was going to do!

---------- A Few Hours Later ----------

Kakashi was sitting alone on a park bench later that afternoon, smiling to himself as he read his favorite book; Icha-Icha Paradise. After having pulled what he deemed to be the best prank he had ever pulled on Maito Gai, he decided to settle in for the rest of the day with his book. His thoughts often made their way back to how Naruto was doing with his pranking... but, he paid little mind to them. After all, if he had to pay for barbecue for the boy, he would, if he didn't, then he wouldn't. However, it turns out Kakashi should've cared more about how Naruto was doing as, from behind his book, Kakashi could hear the feet of dozens of people approaching him.

He placed his book on his lap, and laughed openly as he saw what was right in front of him. He saw in front of him people who had an angry look on their face and... something very wrong with them, each 'wrong' individual to the person. The most important out of each of these people, to Kakashi, were Naruto's former classmates from the Academy, well, seven of them. Sasuke was covered in old and very smelly tomato remains, while Sakura's hair... well, it was polka-dotted, with dots of several different colors.

'I'm going to have to ask Naruto how he managed that.' The scarecrow said, immediately pinpointing Naruto as the only one who could've managed all of this, before looking over at Kiba who was covered in scratches, bites, and cat hair. Shino looked no better, as there were frogs not only around him, but also on him, waiting for his insects to come out. Then there was Shikamaru, who was vibrating so quickly he threatened to cause a great earthquake if he didn't stop. Choji's eyes were bloodshot, and his face and hair were covered in sweat, as Kakashi could feel the heat coming off of his breath. Ino was still soaked and wet, a pretty black-eye sported on her right eye... which occurred during a rather violent confrontation earlier with Sakura who, while not angry at Ino at the time, was mad as hell, and willing to take it out on anyone at the time.

"I'm just going to take a shot in the dirt and say that none of you are enjoying your Konoha Fool's Day all that much...." Kakashi said with another small chuckle, everyone in the herd glaring at him as the Genin stepped forward.

"This isn't funny Kakashi-sensei.... not in the least...." Sasuke said behind clamped teeth as he pointed at himself. "In case you haven't noticed... I'M COVERED IN CRUSHED TOMATO!" The normally cool and calm Genin shouted at his own sensei.

"My... hair... is... **POLKA-DOTTED!**" Sakura shouted, channeling Inner-Sakura towards the end of her exclamation.

"I've just spent the entire day being chased by cats and dogs!" Kiba shouted, before wincing as the cuts stung him for a moment.

"My family has been thoroughly embarrassed by the incident, and I'm the only one who dared leave the house, the other were too afraid of toads attacking." Shino said in his normal tone, though the way he said the sentence would leave any other Aburame stunned at such a show of anger.

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I've be-be-been th-the mo-mo-most ac-ac-act-act-iv-iv-ive I-I-I-I-I-I've be-be-be-been in my en-en-en-en-en-en-entire li-li-li-li-li-f-f-f-f-f-f-e!" Shikamaru stuttered out as he continued shaking on the ground.

"HE EARE URNT I IPS AUFF!" Choji tried to shout through a mouth that felt like it was on fire.

"He made me think I had a secret admirer!" Ino shouted, before suddenly a grown man with a bowl-haircut and the most ugly looking green tights ever, jumped to the front of the crowd.

"I suspect he shaved my eyebrows off!" Maito Gai shouted at Kakashi... who merely stared at his 'rival'... before covering his face with his book. Snorts of derision and laughter could be heard from behind the book, and after several minutes, he lowered the book, the noises of giddiness subsiding as he set the book to the side.

"Come come everyone, how do you know it was Naruto?" The scarecrow ninja asked, before they all pointed to someone behind them.

"WE HAVE A WITNESS!" They all shouted at the same time, as an old man covered in cabbage bits made his way to the front.

"I was just... selling my cabbage... my precious, precious cabbage..." He said slowly in a stunned tone, before his face became angry. "Then that little blond brat told the Chunin nearby that I was selling cabbage full of insects, and showed a cabbage HE STOLE that was filled with bugs..." He said, almost crying now. "They came over... and engulfed by cabbages in flames... my... my...... my...." He stuttered, as suddenly he cried up to the sky. "MY CABBAGES!"

Everyone sweat dropped at the merchant's display, but merely ignored it as they all turned back to Kakashi. "See, he knows Naruto did it!" Kiba suddenly barked as Kakashi chuckled.

"Come on, you all are being ridiculous..." He said as he began picking up his book. "Even if it was Naruto who did all of this they're just pranks, and you all need to get into the spirit of the holiday..." He sputtered off towards the end... as he noticed his book... his book... his book had scribbles on all of the pages. The shocked Jounin dropped the book on the ground, realizing it must've been done while he left the book at his side, while he was listening to the rants of the others. The other prank victims noticed this turn of events and smirked, before Kakashi shook his head. "No matter, there are other books in the book store-"

---------- A Few Minutes Later ----------

"-THAT ARE COVERED IN SCRIBBLES TOO?!" Kakashi cried out as he threw books over his shoulder, trying to find one that wasn't covered in scribbles. By now Kakashi was hyperventilating, as panic quickly overwrote any logic. While this temporarily entertained the other victims, they were still waiting to see what he'd do. As the last book left the shelf, also covered in scribbles, Kakashi slowly stood up and faced his fellow victims, a greatly angered look on his face. "All of you are right... Naruto has gone too far!" Kakashi said in a low tone as he clenched his fists. "And I know just how to get back at him..."

---------- One Half Hour Later ---------

Naruto laughed loudly as he walked down the street, his mirth literally pouring out of him as his hands held onto his burning sides. Today had been one of the best days in his life, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Now he was looking forward to celebrate Konoha Fool's Day every single year for the rest of life! However, little did he know that he'd have some company waiting for him around the corner. When he got onto the main street, he heard someone cough loudly, causing him to turn and look. He smiled widely as he waved at the mob of people he had pranked. "Hey there everyone, happy Konoha Fool's Day!" The blond shouted with a large smile, as suddenly half of the group brought up pitchforks.

"... Guys... what's with the pointy stuff?" Naruto asked with a bit of a nervous tone, as the other half of the mob brought up lit torches. "... Is it going to be dark soon?" He asked meekly, as suddenly the mob began screaming and shouting, Naruto suddenly darting down the street as the angry mob followed him. Naruto screamed as the mob continued following him, Sakura looking up at her sensei in the crowd as they ran.

"This was a great idea Kakashi-sensei!" She shouted, though she seemed to just pass over a large rock in the road without being phased by it. A few rooftops away, Kakashi and the rest of the Genin stood, minus Hinata, the Jounin smirking under his mask as he held the ram seal.

"Yes... it'll take Naruto hours before he realizes that its just a Genjutsu chasing after him." He said, releasing the seal while the illusionary mob continued to run. "By the time the jutsu loses all of the chakra I poured into it, Naruto will be too tired to do anything." The scarecrow said as they all jumped off, relenting to just allow Naruto to run around screaming his head off.

"I HATE KONOHA FOOL'S DAY!" Naruto shouted as he continued to run from the illusion, which was managing to keep on his tail.

Omake (An omake within a filler chapter, funny)

It was morning in Kono- "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Woah, that was quick. As morning broke, everyone in Konoha suddenly ran out of their homes, their hands covering their head as they couldn't believe what had happened to them. They all removed their hands from their heads... to reveal completely blond hair. They all looked up at their hair in both confusion and anger, as they looked around for the culprit.

"It must've been Naruto getting us back!" Sakura shouted, her previously polka-dot colored hair now colored blond. Most of the crowd agreed, but before they could march around the city for Naruto Hinata, who's hair was also blond, suddenly went to the front.

"Wa-wait! I saw wh-who did it last night, while they thought I-I was asleep..." Hinata stuttered in a nervous tone, as the entire crowd stopped and looked at her expectingly. The shy girl fiddled her fingers together, even more nerved now that all of Konoha's eyes were on her. "It was..." She began, before pointing out towards a certain person just walking down the street. "INO-SAN!" Hinata shouted, as said blond suddenly stopped in her tracks, and turned her head towards Hinata and the crowd.

"Wha-what?" She asked in a stunned tone as the crowd suddenly faced her. The crowd, without warning, suddenly ran for the flower girl, Ino screaming in a high-pitched tone as she began running as fast as possible, Hinata remaining behind, waiting for the crowd to disappear from sight.

The Hyuga Heiress looked down the street nervously, before smiling lightly. The blond Hyuga reached up to her hair... and pulled it off, revealing it to be merely a wig to cover her normal colored hair. Hinata had heard about what they had done to Naruto and she didn't much appreciate it. What Naruto had done was a little mean, but it didn't deserve being chased around by a illusionary mob to scare him out of his wits. Plus... he didn't prank her. With that, she placed her wig back on and walked down the opposite path of the crowd and Ino, smiling lightly as she realized that, in a way, she had just beaten the entire town with a prank, and avenged her Naruto in one swoop.


	18. Chapter 18

Naruto: Alone

Hey there people, its me Arganaut, and I'm here to provide you with the next chapter of Naruto: Alone! Anyway, I suspect I know what you all are expecting from this chapter. You're expecting the beginning of the Wave Arc. Well, I'd hate to tell you, but you're not going to get it, so ha!

Instead I'll be going into some detail concerning chakra, Team 7's first missions, and team to team relationships for the next few chapters (don't worry, I've plot it all out, you'll only have to wait 3 more chapters before the Wave Mission begins). I also hope to begin really chiseling out my images for Team 7, and its individual members.

**NOTICE: **

**Also, I'd like to make a few quick honorable mentions in this chapter. The first of which are four authors: Zoneshifter D, FictionReader98, Paintball-Gamer, and Son Kenshin. Now, you might've seen these guys' stories around the community, or even seen them reviewing (or beta-ing) my stories. I like these guys, they're good authors, and people I've had conversations with before. They're good guys with creative ideas, and I have enjoyed their stories for a while now.**

**I know it might seem weird for me to be doing a plug, but these guys don't get a lot of reviews or hits to their stories, and some of them are somewhat discouraged. They have excellent ideas, they just need a kick in the pants to get them going. Now, what I'm asking isn't a lot, I'd just like it if you would stop by their profiles, check out their stories, and see what you think of them. Leave a review, tell them what you liked and didn't like. You won't regret having taken the time out of your day to do so. **

**Another thing I'd like to mention are my other stories. I'd like to ask you all to check out the others to see what you think. Your reviews and views on Alone have really helped to spur me into a writing spree recently, but I would like to have some inspiration for the other tales in my archives. So, if you would, stop by, review, say what you like and don't like, if you would ^^ Much appreciated.**

So, with that done, before we go into this next chapter, let's get the reviews for the bell test chapter out of the way (I'll also splice in some of the reviews from the April Fool's Chapter):

GraityTheWizard- I'm surprised you think of this chapter as such a downer for Naruto. However, yeah, life will improve for him, steadily, as time goes by, just don't expect jumps in quality.

**VFSnake- **Its wrong if, really, Naruto doesn't have the skill or ability to do so. In my story Naruto is very much outclassed by Kakashi, so it wouldn't be prudent, or good for continuity, for something like that to happen this early.

And, maybe the next time I do an April Fools chapter I'll have Naruto get Kakashi back.

**FictionReader98- **Thanks for leaving such a well-written reviews of the chapters, very much appreciated. As for the submissive nature of the team at the end, well, think about it. They threw their absolute best at the guy all at once and pretty much got rocked anyway, even if your ego is as huge as a parade blimp, that's a pretty hard pill to avoid swallowing.

And as for the holes in my April Fools chapter, yeah, I was kind of rushing to get it out, so I'll probably fill those in the next time.

soundless steps- That's always the funny part of writing a story, some people will say he was too submissive, others will say he's too arrogant. Dah well. Anyway, thanks for writing a review, I hope to hear more responses from you as time goes by, and welcome to the insanity.

Also, you're not the only one who was satisfied with the prank ending, in fact, a lot of people voiced support over that.

justanotherguyathiscomputer- I'm more ashamed by the fact that I took time to come up with that omake idea... anyway, if you think you're ashamed now, just wait, I have dozens more coming.

**Dragon Man 180- **Well... just wait and see.

And yes, Hinata is an excellent prankster.

Epicweaver- Well, I'm very glad that my early parts of the work didn't scare you off. I hope to keep you more properly engaged, and hopefully well entertained, in the future.

**Paintball-Gamer- **Thanks man, and yeah, that's one reason why I did the new type of omake, cause its never been done before.

spiritwolf32- Well, it might suck he's still on the street, but I'm just not ready to realistically get him off of it. Don't worry, its coming, but it just won't be soon. On the issue of the 4th, no, just no. The big reason why I didn't name him at all during the earlier chapters of the story was so that I could find out his real name. So I'm not going to use the fanon name. As for updating, just be patient dog, it takes a while to outline the plot and then write the chapter, in the end I think you'd prefer good chapters that take a while to write than bad chapters that come in rapid succession.

Also, yeah, not a lot of people liked the fact Hinata was almost pranked, my bad.

Well, these should answer questions a lot of you have, if not, then my apologies. But, I'll make up for it by getting to what you all really want: the next chapter of Naruto: Alone!

Chapter 18: About Time! Team 7's First Missions!

---------- Five Weeks After the Bell Test ----------

As the sun steadily rose above the Hokage Monument it signaled the beginning of a new day. Though, a much earlier signal would've been the amount of people who were already out and about. The Genin, once again, were on their way to their training grounds, ready to begin yet another day of monotonous and exhausting training. Having finally settled into a routine, the Genin had very few problems getting themselves up early in the morning. They awoke either through helps from their parents or, if the Genin were lucky enough, the natural beams of light from the sun piercing into their homes, forcing them awake.

One Genin, however, was in a very difficult position. This Genin was both on his own when it came to where he lived and also lived in an area where sunlight wouldn't reach until noon, at the very least. This Genin, Naruto Uzumaki, had suffered many 'close calls' in the early days of his Genin-dom, almost failing to make it by the preset time of day his sensei, Kakashi Hatake, set for him and his team. However, it would be worth mentioning that the blond was also quite resourceful when it came to solving this problem, and quickly found a way to make sure he would wake up at the appropriate time. In fact, if we quickly head to Naruto's hideout, we can see his system at work.

In his den, Naruto laid sprawled on top of an old mattress in the middle of the area, snoring loudly as he slept. As the seconds went by, the sun's rays slowly began moving over the top of the hideout, before it happened upon a piece of broken mirror which had been precariously placed on the roof, positioned so that it would slowly reflect light down into the hideout. That reflected beam of light happened upon a new piece of mirror, which reflected it to another piece of mirror, and then another.

After a few more seconds of light traveling through the hideout by means of reflection, a shard of a mirror sent beam of light right onto Naruto's face, the Genin groaning as he placed his hand over his face, slowly sitting up out of the mattress. About ten seconds later, more out of annoyance than anything, Naruto threw a kunai at the original piece of mirror way up above him, shattering it completely.

"... Not my preferred way of waking up... but gotta do it till I get used to waking up this early." Naruto said in the middle of a great yawn, remembering how difficult it was for him to get acclimated to waking up for the Academy, which the Academy Students didn't even begin to arrive at till about two hours from then. Still, it was time to get up, he had about a half hour to get to his meeting place, and he had somethings he needed to get done. Naruto stood up and stretched out his back, his hideout still hidden from the early morning light. Truly not much had changed since the last time we have seen the hideout.

More or less the big changes were that his supplies and gear was all organized better, his various pieces of ninja gear placed up on the wall, alongside clothes of his, the items connected either to pieces of metal jutting forth from the walls, or from various other sharp objects Naruto himself jammed into cracks in the walls. Naruto yawned as he collected his dark green and brown set of clothes for today, the dark green jacket with a red spiral on the back, a brown shirt and some darker brown sets of pants. He quickly slipped on black ninja sandals to complete the set.

The blond Genin flexed his muscles a bit as he jumped around in the clothes, cursing a bit under his breath as he noticed how tight they were. "... Going to need some new clothes... I've had these for a year or two now..." Naruto said as he yawned, quickly picking out some kunai and shuriken to fill his weapons pouch, not exactly expecting there to be much use for the rest of his gear.

Training hadn't really required Naruto to dig deep into his trap making abilities, something he hoped would change soon. After all, long running sessions, heavy weight lifting, sparring, and other such training sessions were fine, but they were wearing thin on him and his teammates.

'They're probably at the bridge, now that I think about it.' Naruto began as Sakura and Sasuke entered his thoughts. 'Better get going before I run out of time.' Was the last thought that left the blond's skull as he hastily made his way out of the hideout, upon making it to the main streets he stole a piece of fruit from one of the street vendors who just so happened to not be looking in his directions. Hey, he still wasn't being paid, so he still needed to get his food through less than legal means.

As Naruto munched on what he considered to be breakfast, his mind wandered to his two teammates. It was no secret that the three didn't exactly have great chemistry before they became a team, hell, back them he absolutely despised Sasuke and Sakura for their roles in making him miserable during the old days of the 'Sasuke Uchiha Fan Club', and the feeling was returned, though Sasuke's had more to do with Naruto's near equivalent skills than they did with the club. Sakura and Sasuke were hardly better off when it came to chemistry, as despite Sakura's repeated attempts to get a good relation between her and Sasuke were shut down by the Uchiha before they even began.

It wasn't much better the day their team was announced, truth be told for a better part of twenty-four hours it only made the way they viewed each other degrade .

Then came the Bell Test, and the quick trip through Hell that made up most of it.

It really was then, even above the quick knock out Ebisu gave him when he first met Konohamaru, that made Naruto realize how limited his skills as the Street Fox were. Kakashi kicked his ass up and down the training field, and effectively forced Naruto to seak refuge in the river. After the blond made his way back into the forest, he ran back into Sasuke, who had also gotten his butt beaten... and despite how badly they had been beaten the two immediately began arguing over who was better suited to beat Kakashi.

Sakura, his third teammate, stumbled into their midst a few seconds later... and scared the shit out of Naruto. Not literally mind you, but Naruto was pretty well scared straight by her rant against him AND Sasuke. Hell, only reason why it truly affected him was because Sakura, the girl he had passed off as a pink-haired pain in the ass fan girl, actually bit Sasuke's head off along with his! It was the moment right afterwards that the three of them came up with the plan that, ultimately, won them the test, though they wouldn't know it at the time.

Naruto took another bite of the fruit as he continued to think. All three of them had been training together for a few weeks now... and, really, overall his opinions were still somewhat the same. Sasuke was still a bit of a moping, 'holier-than-thou' ass, and Sakura was still a pretty huge fan girl. However, even the Street Fox could admit, he had somethings had changed.

For one, Naruto was no longer looking over his shoulder for the knife in the back he expected from the two when they first became a team. So long as he and the Uchiha didn't argue in excess, Sakura wouldn't explode into a rage... a lesson both Naruto and Sasuke, once again, learned the hard way. Also, so long as he and Sasuke didn't pick at each other, no major fighting would occur, hell, the smug son of a bitch actually 'condescended' to giving him some real answers, like yes or no, rather than just grunt or stick his nose up at him in a repugnant manner, and so long as the two of them didn't fight, the pink haired kunoichi wouldn't get on his case.

Though he really didn't care for them, Naruto couldn't deny that the current set-up was probably as comfortable as it could get at the moment, especially considering that, if they ever got into trouble again, the blond had little doubt they could, possibly, pull back together and pull a trick like they did during the test.

With that, Naruto swallowed the last of the fruit he had picked up and began sprinting, trying his best to get to the bridge.

---------- Team 7's Bridge -------

Meanwhile, at the bridge, Sasuke and Sakura had already arrived, standing in relative silence as they awaited the arrival of their third teammate, Naruto.

Like Naruto, they had gotten somewhat used to the morning routine of arrival. For Sakura, either the sun would wake her up or her mother would, for Sasuke, well, the young boy was already very used to waking up extra early in the morning for training, so the only thing he had to worry about was being able to wake up even earlier to get his extra training in. They would both await Naruto's arrival, and when he'd arrive, they'd wait a few more hours for Kakashi to arrive, with Sakura immediately chiding him for his lateness, Naruto jumping in from time to time as well.

For the onyx haired boy and the team's kunoichi, their views of the team were similar to Naruto's, but also very different, with Sasuke's initial view on the team happening to have been very similar to Naruto's. The Uchiha remembered the rage that flowed through him when he first heard the team announcement, and the absolutely disbelief that he could possibly be stuck on the team with Sakura and Naruto. Sasuke shook his head, however, as he had already brought these thoughts up one too many times since the actual event occured. Besides, though stubborn as he was, he was willing to admit that he had been wrong about a few things.

Probably the first thing that had surprised him was Sakura's actual use to the team. Though when the team was first announced, he rolled his eyes and ground his teeth at the idea of basically being forced to carry his 'fangirl's' weight around, seeing as how Naruto wouldn't get, or be allowed, within ten feet of her. However, her actions during the Bell Test did impress, if only mildly, Sasuke. The pink-haired girl not only was useful in their plan to beat Kakashi, but she also was the one who managed to bring the three together... he wasn't so much frightened by her sudden rage explosion as he was surprised... though, he'd probably never admit to anyone that he had felt either emotion in any amount. Ever.

The second thing that had gotten his attention was Naruto. Now, this surprise wasn't so much an instantaneous thing as it was progressive over the past few weeks. Sasuke had expected nothing but constant annoyance and aggravation from Naruto. In one moment, the Uchiha had thought, Naruto would be constantly spouting off about how much of a 'jerk and 'fucking stupid' Sasuke was, and in the next, would be running circles around him in certain exercises, while Sasuke would just respond with how 'stupid' and 'annoying' Naruto was while kicking his ass during sparring matches.

Though Sasuke's expectations had turned out to be quite true for the first week... Sakura's rather sudden temper explosions put a quick end to those arguments. Since then, Naruto and Sasuke had made a silent deal; don't annoy me and I won't annoy you. In all honesty, it worked well. Though Naruto and Sasuke talked sparingly, if at all, it was no longer in the near-constant stream of insults they'd throw at each other... though, there would still be shouts of 'Teme yarou' and 'Dobe' every once in a while when tensions would run high during training sessions.

Combine with this Sasuke's slow acceptance of the fact that Naruto's own skills went well with his, as seen during the bell test, the stress formed by their 'tie' slowly evaporated.

While Sasuke was still rather silent to both, he was actually willing to spare words to both of them. Though he usually only gave one-line answers, Sasuke thought that even that was quite a bit for him to be handing out.

Of course, Sakura, who was just standing across from Sasuke, was very happy with that development, along with a few others. The pink-haired girl, out of all three of them, was probably the one who started off the most satisfied. After all, she had gotten on the same team as Sasuke, and that alone was enough to balance out Naruto being on her team. She had thought that the team dynamic would always be Sasuke and herself working together, while Naruto just kind of did thug things every now and then... and boy did the Bell Test prove that theory wrong immediately. After all, during the test she had worked with both Sasuke and Naruto, an event that she could've seen coming.

What surprised her the most, however, was the she had been the one to get the team working together in the first place. Though she hadn't said so out loud to them, Sakura was also freaked out by her explosion of anger towards her crush... Naruto wasn't so unexpected. She was even more surprised when the three came up with a plan that had actually hit Kakashi pretty hard.

When they had actually managed to impress Kakashi and pass the test, she was completely stunned... though, not to the point where she was above celebrating. She couldn't believe how well they had worked together, and it brought her a certain degree of hopefulness to her, not just with Sasuke, but the idea that Naruto might be even somewhat bearable. Though, of course, the complete unity the three had felt in that moment didn't stay completely intact. Things slowly headed back towards the way they were; Naruto and Sasuke argued, Sakura didn't respect what Naruto referred to as his 'lifestyle', and Sakura still asked Sasuke, and Sasuke continued to shoot down her requests.

However, she could still recognize some differences. Even though she liked Sasuke, recently, she wasn't above shouting at him should both he and Naruto let an argument go on for too long. Such outbursts were still foreign to her, though they didn't' happen so often now that Naruto and Sasuke actually began not arguing. In fact, even that was something that was still foreign to her, Naruto and Sasuke not arguing.

Before at the Academy the two would constantly be insulting each other over every little dispute, something that, until now, hadn't bothered her. Now the two barely talked, and if they did, it wasn't to argue, it was just with ninja stuff... it might've seemed off, but even to Sakura, it seemed like a step in some sort of good direction.

Then there was her relation to Naruto in this team... she didn't like him stealing, she didn't like it at all, and that was still clear. However, with the stress between the blond and her crush going down, she didn't feel all to inclined to go on the offensive against Naruto anymore, so things had steadily cooled between them.

Though, the biggest thing to come out of this was that Sasuke was actually answering her questions almost all the time now. The moody-ninja no longer just grunted out a response or flat-out ignored her, unless it was early in the morning, now he actually gave responses, both to her and Naruto. Sure, it was mostly one-liners; yes, no, whatever, don't care, but this excited her nonetheless.

However, both Sakura's and Sasuke's pondering was cut off when, suddenly, Naruto made his way onto the bridge, yawning quite loudly as he picked pieces of fruit from his teeth.

"Morning." Naruto said off-handedly, almost drowsily, as he shook his head a little, Sakura waving a little as Sasuke just nodded in his direction.

"Morning." Both responded as the three began waiting patiently. Of course, it'd be a few hours before their sensei, Kakashi Hatake, arrived, but if they didn't arrive exactly when he told them too, well, punishments were promised. It irked all three of them that they had to be on-time, but he could be as late as he wanted, however they suspected that the punishments would only irk them even more.

So, the three waited; keeping themselves busy with idle, if shallow, conversations, and other various activities for the next few hours. When the sun finally made its way to the quarter-point of its journey across the sky, a small explosion of smoke appeared at the end of the bridge, drawing the Genin's attention.

"Yo." A mono-toned voice spoke out as Kakashi made his way out of the smoke, his eye curved as he looked at his students.

"What's the excuse this time Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked with an almost bored look in his eyes, Kakashi chuckling as he pulled out six paper cards.

"Well, I was on my way to the Hokage Tower to pick up some elemental testing cards for the three of you, but when I found out they were out of stock I had to go run to pick up the next shipment early." Kakashi said in a much lighter tone than earlier, as the three low-ranked ninja merely waved him off... before immediately snapping their necks towards him so quickly it nearly caused whiplash, a shocked look gracing each of their faces.

"Th-that's actually a plausible excuse!" Sakura exclaimed in a surprised, in fact almost horrified, manner as she stared at her teacher. Sasuke merely nodded in agreement, though he was more stunned than 'horrified'. Naruto himself was about to say something ironic, before he caught the earlier part of Kakashi's sentence.

"Wait, elemental testing cards?" The blond asked in a manner that could only be described as 'cautiously curious', the question itself calming both Sasuke and Sakura as well. The scarecrow Jounin merely chuckled as he nodded.

"Yep, just follow me to the training grounds and I'll explain." Kakashi said as he turned and began walking, the three Genin merely following after him, though with a little more distance between them and their sensei.

Kakashi had to admit, he wasn't planning on testing their chakra elements so soon, heck, he hadn't even gotten them on more advanced forms of chakra control techniques. However, he couldn't lie, they had progressed quite nicely these past several weeks. He liked to think that it was entirely because he beat some sense into them during the Bell Test and made them take their jobs as ninja more seriously, but it was also clear to him that these three had an overwhelming amount of talent stored up in them that he was just barely tapping.

Strength exercises, speed races, teamwork exercises, they were all fine, and good to build them up physically and mentally, but he knew that if he was going to really tap into their full potential, he had to get started on more specific training courses. That meant finding out their chakra types, so he could help them mold their chakra to the best of their abilities. Inwardly, he was a bit enthralled as well, as he was quite curious as to which chakra each of them had... though, it'd have to wait till he fully explained some things.

As they made it to their training grounds, Kakashi motioned towards the area beside the river.

"Sit." Kakashi said quite simply as he stuffed the cards into his pouch, his three students merely nodding as they made their way over to the trees, and either stood or sat against them as they eyed their sensei carefully. Kakashi took a deep breath, as he looked back at them with a curved eye. "Right, so as I explained, I brought some chakra element testing cards today. This is because today I'm going to test which elemental affinity your chakra is." Kakashi said, all three Genin perking up, Naruto going so far as to raise his hand, before Kakashi shook his head.

"Hold on Naruto, I have to explain a few things first." Kakashi said as he walked over to the river, and made the cross-seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu." Calmly left the Jounin's lips as, suddenly, five exact clones appeared beside Kakashi, all five relaxing their bodies as the original Kakashi stepped forward, looking back at the five clones.

"Now, as I'm sure you three are aware, there are five chakra elements that act as the base for almost all jutsu." Kakashi began his lecture off, as his clones flashed through several seals.

The first Kakashi pulled down his mask slightly, though not enough for Sasuke, Sakura, or Naruto to make out his face, as the clone looked straight up, and blew a stream of fire into the air.

"Fire."

The second Kakashi finished his seals and began moving his hands around, streams of wind following his hands as they moved.

"Wind."

The third Kakashi finished up his seals, and pointed his fingers towards the air as, suddenly, a bolt of soundless lightning bolted straight up into the air, scaring all three Genin, if temporarily.

"Lightning."

The fourth Kakashi merely sighed as his seals ended. He quickly dropped his heal onto the ground, forcing an orb of earth about twice the size of Kakashi's head was forced out of the ground, and was kicked away by the same Kakashi.

"Earth."

The final Kakashi ended his seal series, as he waved his hand from behind to in front of him, a jet of water following his hand movements as it sprayed from the river behind the clone, to the dry land in front of him.

"Last, but not least, Water."

The original Kakashi stated, before all six of him looked over at the Genin and curved their eyes. "As you can see, each element is very different from each other, and some are toxic to each each other." He said, as the original glanced at his clones.

Suddenly, all five began using their jutsu again, but kept up a constant stream of each element. The fire wielding Kakashi moved his fire over above the wind wielding clone's head, said clone blasting the wind straight up above him, causing the size and rang of the stream of fire to greatly expand.

The wind wielding Kakashi then moved his wind over into the path of one of the lightning bolts the third Kakashi was using, causing that particular bolt's energy to be instantaneously dissipated. The fourth Kakashi slammed up an orb of earth and kicked it away, and in the next instant the lightning wielding Kakashi blasted it with lightning, causing the boulder to burst into pieces.

The fifth Kakashi began forcing water out of the river in a stream, but the earth wielding Kakashi merely kicked a boulder into the part of the river the stream of water was being forced out of, interrupting the jutsu.

Finally, the water Kakashi blasted the stream of fire produced by the first Kakashi clone with a burst of water, immediately extinguishing it. The five Kakashi clones then placed their hands in their pockets, as the original Kakashi began speaking up again.

"Of course, this is what you'd read in a textbook." The Jounin said as he cracked his neck. "In real life, the 'Wheel of Weakness', as some nickname it, is about as useless and outdated as slamming two rocks together to make fire." He said, as all the clones once again began flashing seals.

The fire Kakashi began blasting fire into the air again... which suddenly extinguished. Looking to its left, the first Kakashi noticed that the wind Kakashi had created a vacuum instead of blowing wind, sucking the air out from the fire attack.

The wind clone blasted wind towards the lightning clone, only to see that, instead of a singular bolt of lighting, the clone's fist seemed to glow with the lightning energy, the wind forced to divert around the concentrated ball of electricity.

The third clone blasted lightning in a bolt towards the earth clone, said clone merely producing a wall of earth, mud, and dust in front of it. As soon as the bolt of lightning hit the wall, it instantly disappeared, nullified by the earth.

The earth clone tossed a boulder out into the open, the fifth clone blasted a torrent of water towards it. At the last minute, the torrent began to tighten and focus, before it began spinning, condensing into a drill of water. As soon as the water drill hit the boulder, the orb of rock was destroyed.

For the final piece of the puzzle, the water clone a huge torrent of water into the air, the first Kakashi clone taking a deep breath and then releasing it, a giant fireball flying from his lips, evaporating the water almost instantly, though the fireball was somewhat smaller than it had started out.

The clones instantly disappeared after this small show, Kakashi looking over at his Genin team who, much to his amusement, were staring at him with unconstrained amazement.

"As you can see, which elements are useful against what varies greatly, depending on how you use an elemental jutsu. A lot of time it'll also depend on the strength and power of the jutsu." He said with a chuckle. "You'll be hard pressed to find an C-Rank elemental jutsu that could cancel out, or outright nullify, an A-Rank elemental jutsu." He said as he walked away from the river, sighing as he scratched his temple. "Now... there's something else I'm supposed to cover..." The scarecrow muttered to himself, before snapping his fingers. "Oh, right." He said as he placed his hands to his side.

"Now, on top of being able to do certain jutsu easily, having a certain elemental chakra also helps with chakra recovery." Kakashi said with a 'as-a-matter-of-fact' tone. "Now, the best way to recover chakra is always to lay down and rest, however, if you find yourself in a tough spot, there are different ways of recovering it." He said, pointing straight up at the sun.

"For example, a person with the fire element can convert heat from the sun absorbed from their skin into chakra." The Jounin said, before taking a deep breath. "Wind element ninja can reabsorb chakra by filtering it from the very air they breathe." Kakashi said before shaking his head. "I'll give you lightning last, believe me, its a treat." He said with a chuckle.

"For earth elementals, its as easy at eating something from nature. A wild fruit, herb, or a vegetable, or anything else ripe from the earth." Kakashi said, before continuing. "Water element ninja, all they have to do is drink water from a river, a lake, a stream, or any other large body of water." He said, before shaking his head. "So long as its straight from that natural body of water." Kakashi said, before finishing up.

"The idea behind these four elements is that everything in nature, from the sun we bask in to the air we breath, has a natural source of chakra in it that a ninja in tune with that specific part of nature can pull out in a time of need, though admittedly in very small amounts." The silver-haired Jounin stated, before cracking his neck. "Lightning element... well, that's a little more complicated." Kakashi said as he flashed through seals.

Suddenly, he began blasting several bolts of lightning up into the air, the very charge of the electricity of those bolts could be felt in the air. "Ninja for the longest time had pondered how lightning element specialists could possibly recover lightning chakra, since the act of getting struck by actual lightning only killed them." Kakashi said with a somewhat dark chuckle, as he flashed through seals again. "Then, however, they noticed something." The Jounin moved his hands through the air, little sparks of electricity appearing between his fingers.

"They noticed that whenever they used lightning jutsu, there was left a little bit of charge in the air that felt unnatural." He said, as those sparks of electricity became constant streams. "They discovered that by flashing through the seals again..." He said as the electricity that streamed between his fingers overtook both his hands, growing larger and more wild. "And gathering this charge from the air..." Kakashi said in a strained tone as he slapped his left hand onto his right wrist, the lightning gathered in his left hand transferring to his right, causing a massive ball of electrical sparks and whistles to form in the palm of his right hand.

"They could re-use the energy in another jutsu, in a sense recycling the old energy." He said as he let loose a breath, the lightning in his right hand slowly dissipating into nothing. Kakashi's eye once again curved as he looked at his students, who's jaws had gone completely loose. Even Sasuke had his mouth gaping open at the display his sensei had just shown him, his, and his teammates', eyes as wide as plates.

"The energy you recycle can even be used for even the most advanced of lightning jutsu, like the one I just used." Kakashi said as he reached into his pocket, pulling out the six cards again. "Now, here's how we're going to test you for your chakra type. I'm going to give you each two chakra cards, one for each hand. I want you to focus your chakra into both cards, if you feel like you can separate your chakra into two distinct types, then do so and put one type in each card." He said as he gave the Genin each two cards. Before his students could even raise a question, Kakashi continued his lecture.

"You do this because there's a slight possibility that you may have more than one chakra type." He said, as he stood back and looked over his students. "A very slight, very slim possibility." The Jounin said as he curved his eye again. "Now, go ahead and do it, I'll tell you your chakra types when you're done." Kakashi said as all three Genin nodded, and began focusing their chakra into the cards.

Sakura was actually the first one done, as her cards both quickly disintegrated into dust, and that dust fell to the ground. Naruto came next, when both of his cards were cut right in half. Sasuke was the last, and was in for a bit of a surprise. The card in his right hand burnt up into ash, the card in his left hand crumpled up. The three Genin looked at their own cards and at each others, before looking back up at Kakashi, who merely nodded.

"Alright then..." Kakashi began, pointing at Sakura, then Naruto, and finally Sasuke, in a successive order. "Sakura, you're a earth chakra type, Naruto you're a wind chakra type, and Sasuke pretty well hit the jackpot, he has both fire and lightning chakra in him." Finishing up, the three Genin looked pretty satisfied with their chakra types.

"You hear that Naruto, two chakra elements." Sasuke goaded a bit with a small smirk, Naruto sticking his tongue out at him.

"Whatever, all I have to do is breathe to get my chakra back, you can't do that now can ya?" Naruto teased back, Sakura sighing as she shook her head. Kakashi himself was chuckling lightly as he watched them.

"Alright, alright boys you can discuss who got the better chakra types later..." He said, remembering his own little tussle with Obito over their chakra. "For now, we have to get to business..." The scarecrow said as his team sighed and stood up. "Why so down, I thought you all would be excited over getting to do your first missions?" Kakashi said with a smirk hidden under his mask, as suddenly all three youngsters looked right at Kakashi, eyes widening considerably as Naruto shot up first.

"Really, you mean it, a mission!? As in I'll actually get paid!" Naruto shouted as he practically got face-to-face to Kakashi, causing the Jounin to not so discretely push Naruto away from his a little bit.

"Yes, Naruto, you're going to go on your first missions today." Kakashi said as Naruto began jumping around, Sakura and Sasuke standing up afterwards with small smiles on their faces. "Now, seeing as how these are your very first missions, I want you to do as many as you can today, just to get a feel for them. So, today we'll skip training and get right to the missions." Kakashi said, all three Genin nodding quickly to acknowledge his statement.

"Follow me to the Hokage Tower." The scarecrow said before running off, the Genin following him as quickly as they could.

---------- Hokage Tower ----- A Few Minutes Later ----------

Nearly as soon as they had departed, Team 7 arrived in front of the Tower. Naruto, excited to get his first mission, was just about ready to burst through the door, when Kakashi held him back by the collar of his jacket. "Hold it Naruto, hold it." The Jounin said in a calming manner, as Naruto looked back at him in confusion, along with Sakura and Sasuke. "Its always been tradition that for the first missions, the Jounin goes in and picks them up without the Genin... make your missions a surprise." Kakashi said with a with a smirk hidden underneath his mask, as Naruto nodded in understanding.

"Alright, then go in there and get it!" Naruto said, a little anxious to get the missions started. Seeing this, the silver-haired Jounin just chuckled as he walked into the towards, Naruto turning to his teammates as Kakashi walked out of sight.

"What do you think our first mission's going to be!?" Naruto asked, excited to the point of bursting out of his skin. "I hope we have to rescue some rich person, that'll probably get us a lot of pay!" The blond said, chuckling to himself, while both Sakura and Sasuke sweat dropping at Naruto's rather one-track mind.

"Whatever...." Sasuke said with a small sigh as Sakura just shook her head at Naruto.

"Seriously, Naruto, I don't think something huge would be good for us yet – we're just Genin." Sakura said as Naruto shook his head.

"Oh come on, think big! We could be famous if we get a really good mission!" Naruto began, but before he could get much further, Kakashi came back out of the Tower, holding three scrolls in his hands. Naruto immediately looked towards Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke turning a little more slowly. The silver-haired Jounin coughed into his fist as he opened up the first scroll, reading over it, before closing it, giving the three of them a serious look.

"Alright, this is a mission from the Land of Fire Daimyo's wife herself." Kakashi stated, Naruto heard whispering 'Jackpot' under his breath. "She said she lost her 'baby' earlier today, said he ran off into the woods while she wasn't looking... our mission is to find him and return him to her." He continued, as Naruto was practically shaking.

"Alright, where is the little twerp?!" The excited blond nearly shouted as Kakashi merely curved his eye... oh boy was Naruto in for a bad surprise.

"Last time he was spotted was out in the woods, east of here. Now then, remember, you don't hurt him, no matter what." Kakashi added as all three Genin nodded in near unison. "Alright, the mission has begun, get going... I'll just wait here for you three to return..." Kakashi said, chuckling to himself while his students began sprinting off in the direction indicated. The silver-haired Jounin stared off after them, still laughing to himself.

"Oh they are going to hate me after this..."

---------- Konoha Woods ----------

Several minutes after the mission began, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto found themselves in the middle of Konoha forest, Sasuke and Sakura readying themselves for the mission while Naruto looked around at the surrounding area, looking for any trace of the target. Sasuke looked over to Naruto and sighed... he was the one who had the most experience in tracking...

"Naruto..." Sakura began before Sasuke could begin to speak, allowing Sasuke to keep some of his pride. "You said during team introductions that you ate all sorts of animal meat... still gross by the way... you probably hunted all of that... which probably makes you best suited to tracking the kid down..." Sakura relented, as Naruto nodded, still sifting through the bushes.

"Yeah, yeah whatever." Naruto said off-handedly, causing a small vein to pop up in her head. Before should could reprimand the Street Fox, however, Naruto began talking. "I think he was through here... but the signs he's been leaving behind are pretty small..." He said, picking up a rather small piece of the bush that had broken off... that had been the only broken piece. "Not to mention the marks he's leaving behind in the grass are a little small and far away from each other..." He said as he tapped his toes to the ground. "Almost like he was running on his toes, like us." The blond said as his more moody teammate raised his eyebrow.

"You mean this kid might have ninja training..." Sasuke said, not in a questioning manner, but in more of a 'this is going to be a pain in the ass' manner. Naruto shrugged as he stood up, brushing grass off of his knees.

"Does it matter? We can catch him." The blond Genin said with a smirk as he cracked his knuckles, Sakura and Sasuke nodding slightly as all three suddenly jumped up onto the branches of the surrounding trees. The three jumped along, keeping their eyes open for the target, while Naruto simultaneously looked for possible indicators of where the target may have gone. Suddenly the group heard some movement in the bushes, and looked down below them. The leaves of the plants shuffled and rustled as something small moved through it.

"I think I see him!" Naruto shouted suddenly they all maneuvered around to pursue the target. As suddenly as Naruto shouted, the rustling in the bushes began to run away from the group, while also staying in the bushes for cover. Naruto nodded to both Sasuke and Sakura who pulled out a few shuriken and began tossing them into the bushes. As the shuriken hit the bushes, and then the earth, the rustling patterns in the leaves merely moved around them, turning at a dime's notice every single time.

"Looks like we were right, this kid's been trained..." Sasuke muttered before Naruto shook his head.

"Whatever, let's just trap this kid in the bushes and tackle him!" The blond shouted suddenly as he pointed to the bushes, the target having suddenly stopped just before the edge of the flora. Sasuke and Sakura nodded with Naruto as all three of them drew four kunai. Team 7 threw the kunai in precision, striking either to the left, to the right, or behind where the bushes had moved, forcing the target to move in the only available direct. "I got him!" Naruto shouted as he sprang from the branch he was on, diving right towards the clearing right in front of the bush where the target had tried to run into.

After a bit of a rough landing on the ground, and on the target, Naruto could feel something moving between his arms. With the rest of his momentum, Naruto rolled right onto his feet, holding his catch up in the air like a trophy.

"Yeah, I got you know you little br-" The excited ninja exclaimed, before actually looking at what he caught. It was a brown with greyish-brown stripes going across its back. It was a little bit fat, easily seen as the collar around its neck had little bulges of skin going around it. Another odd characteristic of the cat was a little red ribbon on its right ear. "-cat?" Naruto finished as he and the cat stared back and forth between each other.

Suddenly the cat freaked out and began scratching Naruto's face with his claws, causing the blond some major irritation. "Ah! Stop you mangy furball!" Naruto shouted as he tried to throw the cat away, only for said cat to latch onto his head and begin scratching his entire head. "AAH! I swear, I've eaten bigger things than you!" Naruto shouted as he tried pulling the cat off his head. "Don't think I won't turn you into stew just cause you're someone's pet!" The erratic blond continued to scream, before suddenly his teammates showed up.

"Nice catch dobe..." Sasuke taunted a bit as Naruto glared at him... well, as well as he could with a cat on his head.

"Shut up bastard! I don't where the hell this cat came from, but I know where he's going!" The 'Great Street Fox' shouted as he finally managed to pull the cat off his head, putting it in front of him as he reared his leg back. "Sayonara!" Naruto shouted as he attempted to punt the cat, before suddenly Sakura pulled the cat from Naruto's grip, causing him to fall when he attempted to kick the air, an act that caught a few small chuckles from Sasuke.

"Sakura, what the hell?!" The irate Uzumaki shouted, before noticing his pink-haired teammate just staring at the back of the cat's collar. "Sakura?" He asked again, before standing up and walking behind Sakura, an act copied by Sasuke. All three Genin looked at the back of the cat's collar... and immediately Naruto and Sasuke took on the same surprised look Sakura had plastered on her face.

On the back of the cat's collar, the words 'Tora, property of...'

"Oh this better be some kind of joke...."

---------- In Front of the Hokage's Tower ---------

It wasn't.

Currently all three Genin of Team 7 stood beside their sensei, watching the Daimyo's wife nearly crush the cat, apparently named 'Tora' within a bear hug, the cat crying out in pain as tears filled his eyes. All three Genin would've been a little sympathetic... if they weren't so angry at the moment.

"Tora! I missed you so much, don't you dare ever leave mommy again!" The daimyo's wife shouted as she continued to squeeze Tora, the cat looking like he was going to break in two. The woman suddenly looked at Team 7 and bowed her head. "Thank you so much, I don't know what I would've done if I lost him forever." She said before tightening his collar a little more, causing the cat to make suffocation sounds. "Its a good thing you didn't slip your collar off this time Tora, or else they might not have known who you belonged to." She said with laughed as she began dragging the cat away, Tora reaching his paw out for Team 7 as he cried out.

Still, despite this, Team 7 held no sympathy for the cat. Instead, they now turned their attention to their sensei, looking up at him with a small glare.

"... Kakashi-sensei... what the hell?" Sasuke started off first, sparing few words as he quite simply asked the question all three of them were wondering. The scarecrow merely looked at all three of them and shrugged.

"What? I said you were returning the Daimyo's wife's 'baby', and she considers Tora her 'baby'. You all made the assumption that it was a child of hers." The Jounin said as his eye curved, all three Genin glaring at him angrily before merely sighing out their frustration.

"Fine... so, what's our next mission?" Naruto asked quickly, all three of them quickly looking back up at Kakashi as he pulled out the second scroll. The silver-haired man coughed into his fist as he unrolled the mission scroll, read it over, and then closed it.

"The next mission is a break-in for the three of you." Kakashi spoke while pointing towards one particular apartment at the top of a building a few blocks away. "I'll go with you this time: the mission specifically asks for you three to get into that apartment by any means needed, clear?" Kakashi stated more than asked, as his students merely nodded... okay, this couldn't be so bad if Kakashi had to participate in it, right?

"Understood." The three Genin said with some excitement, though they were far more weary than before... well, Sasuke was already as weary as he could get, but now now Naruto and Sakura were getting down there with him.

So, with that, the entire team began running off to that apartment, all four of them keeping their eyes forward right on their target. Eventually, they arrived at the target's apartment, the four of them crowding around the door. Sasuke reached forward and tried to open it up, finding the door locked. The black-haired boy sighed as he stood to the side.

"Either one of you know how to open a locked door?" He asked, as Naruto quickly raises his hand, Sakura raising hers. "Sakura?" Sasuke asked more out of surprise than anything.

"Well... since we need to get in fast, and its locked, how about we just kick the lock in?" Sakura asked quickly, Naruto merely laughing at her suggestion.

"Sakura, I think I should be the one doing the breaking and entering, my plan is far more subtle." The overly proud former thief said as his pink-haired teammate merely glared at him a bit as she stood out of the way. Naruto smirked as he cracked his knuckles, pulling out a kunai and a straight piece of metal as he walked up to the handle and locking mechanisms. Naruto then knelt down and immediately began picking the lock.

" Let's see what we have here..." Naruto whispered mostly to himself as he tried to use both the kunai and the metal in a coordinated effort with one and the other. For five minutes the blond ninja jimmied the lock, trying to force the metal piece into the lock with the kunai... after that five minutes the straight metal piece broke in two, and Naruto just began trying to stab the lock open with the kunai.

"ARGH! This hunk of junk lock!" Naruto shouted as he continued stabbing it for a minute, before pulling the kunai from the lock. He looked at the metal blade and grunted in annoyance, noticing a lot of rust on the tip of it. "Jesus... how old is this lock..." Naruto said to himself as he put the kunai away, before looking back at his team... all three of them looking like they were on the verge of laughing at the 'expert thief'.

" Don't give me that look!" Naruto shouted as he glared back at the lock. "Screw this!" Naruto shouted as he brought up his leg...

A second later, Naruto's foot collided with the door's handle and lock, knocking both right out of their positions. A second after that, the door slowly swung open, revealing Naruto standing there, his foot still up. Kakashi sighed while Sasuke just rolled his eyes. Sakura, in the meantime, stuck her tongue out at Naruto and pulled her eyelid down, all three looking at him with the very same unimpressed look in their eyes.

"Subtle." All three stated, nearly at once, before Naruto looked back at them with a glare.

"Hey, it was a really old lock, I couldn't pick it so I might as well kick it in!" Naruto shouted as he pointed in. "Now, let's get in there and..." The loud blond began, before being stunned into silence again. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stared into the room with their jaws hanging open, as they saw nothing more than an old man sitting in his rocking chair, rocking back and forth as he looked over at his door.

"Oh, hello there youngsters, what're you doing here?" The old man greeted, as the three Genin merely stared on. In the silence of the moment, Kakashi walked into the room, waving his hand at the older gentleman.

"Hello there Mr. Tanaka, how are you today?" Kakashi asked, as the old man, a Mr. Tanaka, looked up and smiled at Kakashi.

"Oh, hello young man, I'm quite fine, how are you today?" Mr. Tanaka responded, Kakashi just curving his eye.

"Oh, I'm good and dandy sir, just taking my Genin team out for a mission..." He said, before snapping his fingers. "Speaking of missions, we were sent here to answer your request for..." Kakashi said, pulling out the mission scroll again. "Someone to clean your house." Kakashi said, causing all three Genin to face vault.

"Ah yes, I really need someone to help me out around the apartment." The old man said as he stood up, a few of his bones popping as he did. "I just can't reach some places or clean them like I used to when I was younger, so I need some young blood to help me out." Mr. Tanaka then went over to his closet and pulled out a broom, plus some tools, throwing them over to Naruto, pulled out a dish towel, and threw it to Sasuke, and then picked out a brush, and threw it to Sakura.

"Now... I need you to sweep up around here... and while you're at it fix my door." Pointing to Naruto. "I need you to wash my dishes." Pointing to Sasuke. "And I need you to scrub the floors." Mr. Tanaka finished off, pointing to Sakura. "Now, please, the quicker you start, the quicker you can be done." The old man said as he sat back down in his rocking chair, all three Genin looking towards their sensei for some kind of reprieve. The Jounin merely shrugged as he continued reading his book.

"Hey, you heard the man." Kakashi said in a blunt manner, all three Genin just sighing as they immediately began going about their jobs...

----------- Back in Front of the Hokage Tower ----- About Two Hours Later ----------

The Genin members of Team 7 all stood outside the Hokage Tower. Naruto was covered in dust and dirt and all different kind of things he didn't even want to think of being on him, Sasuke's hands were as wrinkled as Mr. Tanaka's face, and hands looked like they were stuck in the brushing position they had been in for the better part of two hours.

Each and every single one of them absolutely irate and angry, and for good reason. They had been given two missions that, by the looks of it, were absolutely meaningless and, by Naruto's measure, not really worth any money.

"... I'm almost ready to say that I prefer training to this..." Naruto said quite bluntly, his two teammates nodding in agreement as Kakashi re-emerged from the Hokage Tower, immediately all three sets of angry eyes on him. The scarecrow looked at his students and noticed the frustration in their eyes as they stared at him point blank.

"... I'm going to guess that you three aren't exactly ecstatic with your missions, are you?" The Jounin asked them, as Sakura's left eye twitched.

'Oh no Kakashi-sensei, I'm ready and excited for the next mission...' Sakura thought... but what she said:

"**OF COURSE WE'RE NOT ESTACTIC, THESE MISSIONS ARE CRAP**!!!" Sakura shouted out loud... which immediately drew the attention of not only her teammates and her sensei, but also everyone around them. The pink-haired kunoichi immediately blushed and lowered her head, trying to not look anyone in the eyes after her rather sudden explosion. It was silent for quite a few moments, before Naruto coughed into his fist, trying to break the uncomfortable atmosphere in the air.

"Right... well, Sakura's right; these missions have been bad..." Naruto said a little more softly and certainly with less anger than Sakura moments earlier, not wishing to set her off again. Kakashi merely shrugged as he pulled out the final mission scroll from his jacket. The three Genin watched Kakashi, all excitement from their previous scroll banished from all three of them, as he read over the contents of the scroll, and then closed it.

"Alright, this last mission will require us to guard a business in this city from possible brigands who'd want to steal from it..." Kakashi began, while Sakura and Sasuke tossed a glance over at Naruto, whom merely looked at the two of them and raised his hand. "And no Naruto, not you." The Jounin said with a small laugh, the ex-thief in the group merely relinquishing a breath of relief as he motioned for Kakashi to continued.

" At any rate, I'll show you the business, and when the owner is done with us... or, since I'll be reading, you, the owner insists that he'll pay you himself." Kakashi finished, Naruto's eye immediately glinting in a bit of excitement at the mention of 'pay'. "So, let's get over to the business." The scarecrow Jounin added, as he began walking along the street, the three Genin looking at each other and shrugging, confused by Kakashi's rather slow pace, before following him.

A few minutes later, and less than two blocks away, the Genin team all stood still and stared up at the name of the business they were supposed to 'guard'....

Ichiraku Ramen.

The person who was the first, and most negative person to react, was Naruto, still remembering his bad run in with the solid blocks during his first day at the Academy.

"What the hell is this!?" Naruto shouted as he looked at Kakashi. "Why the hell do we need to protect this place, all they have to do is put out some of their nasty food and that'll scare off whoever'd want to steal from them!" The blond ranted while Kakashi merely sighed out loud.

"Because Naruto, they've paid the Hokage's office to do this mission, and after we're done, they're going to give you payment..." This immediately shut Naruto up as he just resigned himself to pouting about the situation, his two teammates just shaking their heads at his display.

"Whatever, let's get this over with..." Sasuke spoke up solemnly as the other three nodded and entered the ramen stand, where suddenly they ran right into the owner of the food stand, Teuchi Ichiraku.

"Welcome to Ichiraku's Ramen!" He suddenly shouted, causing all three Genin to jump back a bit, not expecting the older man's energy. Kakashi only sighed with a quick wave as he flipped to the next page in his book. "I suppose you all are the ninja I hired-" Teuchi began, before suddenly hearing a coughing noise behind him. All five persons turned to see Teuchi's daughter, Ayame, standing there, crossing her arms as she raised an eyebrow at her father. "I mean, the ninja that my daughter hired..." The older man corrected as Ayame just smiled and waved at the Genin.

"Welcome, glad you could come." Ayame said quickly, before returning to the task of cleaning the bowl, while Teuchi nodded.

"Yes, we're both very glad you could come, we've been needing some help with a particularly bad bunch of thieves." Teuchi began, as suddenly Naruto and Sakura raised their heads, hoping he was actually being serious.

Then they all heard a series of scratches and bumps, and out of the ingredient cupboard a large raccoon jumped out, carrying between its teeth some meat and vegetables.

"Come back here you giant rat!" Teuchi shouted as he suddenly picked up a customer's ramen bowl and threw it at the raccoon, only to have the furry animal jump out of the way of the bowl, and exit through a small hole in the wall. Teuchi sighed, as that customer, and many of the other customers, left the stand, after having seen what rolled around in his ingredient cabinet.

"You see, that's the problem right there. Every single time Ayame and I set up traps, or repair holes in the walls, one of those giant rats just sneaks in while we're working, without us noticing, and makes another way in." The old ramen chef said before smiling. "However, now that you three are here, things will be easier. You three are going to stand outside the building and make sure that the raccoon dogs don't sneak in while I set up traps and repair holes in the walls which will, hopefully, keep these little pests out for good." Teuchi said with hope as all three Genin just sighed again.

"By the way... this job could take me till the end of the day, so you're going to be here for a while." He quickly added, which caused both Naruto and Sakura to face vault, Sasuke merely settled for a grunt of annoyance, and Kakashi, who already knew the situation, inwardly chuckled at his student's reactions.

" You've got to be kidding! This is going to eat up the rest of our day?!" Naruto shouted as soon as he stood up, only to have the solemn stare from Teuchi straighten him out immediately. "I-I mean... happy to oblige..." Naruto said, catching himself as Teuchi once again began smiling.

"Good, now then, go ahead and get out there and keep watch, I'll shout for ya when I'm ready to give you all your pay." Old man Ichiraku finished as all three Genin just nodded and ran outside of the building, Kakashi merely following them slowly. They all stood outside the main entrance and sighed, Sakura pointing over to Naruto.

"Alright, Kakashi's not going to do much, so I don't know about you two, but I don't want to be scrambling around every single time we see a raccoon. Naruto, how about you create some Shadow Clones to keep watch over some of the high points in the building while we keep around the base of the area." Sakura suggested, the blond boy nodding slowly.

"Right..." The blond he said with a half-sigh as he made the cross seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu." As suddenly as he said the name of what was slowly becoming one of his signature jutsu, at least a dozen Naruto clones popped up in front of the group, Naruto looking over each of them before nodding. "Alright guys, get going!" The ex-thief ordered to his clones as they nodded, jumping up all around the building and landing on certain look out points.

"... This sucks..." Naruto said quite bluntly as all three Genin and their teacher began making their way to the back of the ramen stand, Kakashi following them to keep an eye on them. "I mean, oh joy of joys, we're going to watch out for raccoons, right after busting into some old guys house, after catching a cat... yeah, this is exactly what I imagined when I was convinced to be a ninja..." Naruto said in a disappointed manner, Sakura and Sasuke quickly glancing at each other, before looking at their teammate with raised eyebrows; Kakashi himself peaking up from his book to watch the oncoming conversation.

"What do you mean convinced?" Sasuke asked first, wondering exactly what Naruto had meant by that. The blond looked back at the two, shrugging as he began walking backwards so he could get a good look at them.

"What do you mean 'what do you mean'? The old man had a ninja drag me to his office, told me about how if I became a ninja I'd be able to live comfortably for once, and I believed him." Naruto said with a bit of a grunt, causing Sakura to blink.

"What old man?" The pink-haired girl inquired, though in the back of her mind she already had a good guess as to who.

"The Hokage." Naruto stated as if it was no big deal... before noticing the rather shocked expressions on his teammates' faces. "Isn't that normal?" He quickly asked, only to receive a quick shake of the head from each. "Oh..."

Honestly neither Sasuke nor Sakura had known that the Hokage himself had gotten Naruto to attend the Academy and become a ninja. For them both their parents merely signed them up to attend the Academy and that was that. This of course, brought several questions to the pink-haired kunoichi's mind.

'How the hell did he catch the notice of the Hokage... why did Hokage-sama want to make a thief a ninja... what did the he see in Naruto... is there something we don't know?' The questions fired off rapidly in Sakura's mind as one by one came to her.

Sasuke himself was shocked for a few moments, before he sighed and shook his head. 'I remember now...' Sasuke thought to himself, as the days of his youth returned to his mind. The Uchiha's had been in control of the Konoha Military Police Force before... well, before the Massacre. Sasuke could remember days when his relatives in the Police Force would come home, and complain to everyone about 'that brat, the Street Fox'.

It had been the first time he had ever heard of Naruto, or his nom de plume, 'The Street Fox'.

'Obviously... Hokage-sama made him a ninja because of his exploits against the police force...' The onyx-haired boy thought with a shrug. 'Whatever... old news now.' With that, Sasuke dismissed the thoughts from his mind.

Kakashi, meanwhile, had merely gone back to reading his book. The Jounin had known for a while the various reasons why Sarutobi had made Naruto a ninja, and really, he couldn't argue with any of them, and at this point, after seeing Naruto in action, wouldn't. After a few moments of thought, the team made it to the back of the building, Naruto yawning out of boredom as he sat on top of a trash can.

"Well, might as well get comfy... this is going to be a long day..." Naruto said, looking up to see Kakashi already on top of another garbage can a few feet away.

"Way ahead of you..." Kakashi said idly as he flipped the page he was reading, giggling in a perverted manner as he read the next page. This of course caused the Genin to sigh, before taking their own relaxed positions behind the shop, Naruto's Shadow Clones keeping a lookout position almost everywhere else. Suddenly, however,Team 7 heard a small shuffling a few yards away and looked towards alley opposite the one they came in to see a raccoon moving along, getting closer to them.

Sasuke picked out a kunai from his back pouch and immediately threw it into the ground right in front of the furry little animal, causing it to yelp in terror, and run back the way it came.

"Wow... if they scare that easily, the old guy and his daughter must not be all too terrifying." Naruto commented idly while Sasuke nodded in agreement, Sakura given a soft 'aw' look towards the running raccoon, feeling a tad bit sorry for it. However, whatever empathy Sakura may have felt for the raccoon disappeared as soon as it came back... along with fourteen of his friends.

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and even Kakashi, looked on at the large number of raccoons in surprise, unable to believe they were seeing such a large number of them grouped together. "... Do they normally do stuff like this Naruto?" Sakura asked timidly, Naruto shaking his head side to side.

"I've seen a few together at a time... but never this many together." The 'hunter' of the group said with a bit of a shake.

"... You've got to be kidding me..." Sasuke said after a few moments, his jaw still hanging open slightly as all fifteen raccoons began moving in on their position.

"I guess these little fellas have learned to use a group dynamic in order to help get into the ramen stand... perhaps while trying to catch them you three should pay close attention to their methods." Kakashi added at the end with a curved eye, his students glaring at him for a moment before turning back to the raccoons.

The fifteen animals looked down at the ninjas with small amounts of growls and hisses, Naruto whistling as suddenly his twelve Shadow Clones jumped down right beside or behind the three Genin, equaling out the numbers between the two groups. As soon as the Shadow Clones made their appareance, the raccoons immediately ran for the Genin and the clones.

The two groups collided, the raccoons immediately jumping up on their 'adversaries' and either scratched at their faces, or bit them in areas no one wants to be bit.

"AAAAH! Get 'em off me! Get 'em off me!" A Naruto clone shouted as he tried to ply a raccoon from his face, only to have another one to jump up and bite him on the rear. "AAAAAAAAAH!" The clone shouted as he exploded into a cloud of smoke, those two raccoons moving onto another target.

"What the hell is wrong with these things?!" Sakura shouted as tried to kick a raccoon off her leg, only to have it stay on her leg and begin biting at it. "OUUUCH!" She screamed as she tried to ply the little pest off of her leg.

Sasuke merely growled as he tried again and again to activate a Fire Jutsu, only to have his seals ruined each time by an attacking raccoon, one on each of his arms.

The real Naruto had it rough, as each of the Naruto clones that were destroyed had their raccoon attack the real blond. "Help me, for the love of Kami!" Naruto shouted as he was practically crawling with the pests.

Kakashi, in the meantime, stood on top of a fence ledge, watching the chaos below him with a bit of a shrug. 'Their mission, their problem...' Kakashi thought to himself... though he was actually chuckling while he watched the scene, this being the most entertaining thing he had seen since the release of Make-Out Paradise's sequal.

Suddenly, Naruto, the real one, once again made the cross symbol, managing to quickly shout the name of his technique before a raccoon completely ruined the seal. Suddenly twenty Naruto's appeared, trying to help Sasuke, Sakura, and their creator out... only to be slowly destroyed by the raccoons.

"THESE RACCOONS ARE FROM HELL!" Naruto shouted as he made more clones to try and compensate for the clones that were destroyed...

---------- Behind Ichiraku Ramen ----- Several Hours Later ---------

A quick knocking from the back door of Ichiraku Ramen was heard, when suddenly Teuchi emerged from the door, a few nails between his teeth and a hammer in his hand. "Alright ninjas, I'm done!" The old man shouted as suddenly the fifteen raccoons ran away, leaving in their path of destruction three badly scratched up and bitten Genin. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all stood looking completely out of it as they looked over at Mr. Ichiraku. "Hey... where's the guy with the mask?" The ramen chef asked, only to have his question answered by said Jounin.

"About halfway through the attack of the raccoons... Naruto threw one of the little buggers on me..." Kakashi said as he walked out from behind the open door, showing a few scratch marks around the exposed part of his face and the edges of his mask, the pages of his book also being a bit torn, as he stuffed it back into his pouch. Teuchi merely sweat dropped as he looked at the team of ninja, before pointing back into the building.

"Well... I'm done so you can come in and collect your payment at the front of the restaurant." The ramen chef said as he went back in, Team 7 walking around the outside of the building, all four of them trudging along slowly. They all remained silent, as none of them could even stand to move their mouths to talk thanks to the scratches. They finally managed to get to the front of the stand and then walked inside, seeing it empty of customers. Ayame and Teuchi stood behind the bar, smiling at Team 7 as they bowed their heads.

"Thank you for your help, thanks to you father was able to make this place airtight. No more raccoons should be making their way into the ramen stand from now on." Ayame said in a light tone, raising her head to look at the ninja.

"Yes, they've been costing us costs in food, cooking supplies, and customers that have been run off. Thanks to you we won't have to worry about these costs anymore." Teuchi said as he too raised his head, reaching deep into his pockets. "Now, for your pay." The ramen chef quickly added, Naruto perking up as he watched the old man's hands anxiously. Suddenly, Teuchi got out four slips of paper, handing one to each to each of the Genin, and to their sensei.

"For your help, you'll get free Ichiraku Ramen for a month!" Teuchi shouted as Ayame smiled, all four scratched up ninja just staring blankly at their coupons. Naruto, however, stared at his coupon while also twitching out of rage. Suddenly, Naruto's scratches began to heal up, as his rage began expressing itself on his face. Before the blond could shout out at the ramen chef, Kakashi covered the blond Genin's mouth, chuckling lightly as he looked at the coupon.

"Well... seeing as how we've just been scratched up by raccoons and I don't think any of us have eaten since this morning... I don't think a bowl of ramen would be out of the question." Kakashi said slowly, both Sasuke and Sakura slowly nodding in agreement as they sat up on a stool. Naruto glared at Kakashi who merely forced Naruto up on the stool, the Genin sending a look at his sensei that screamed 'I'm so going to kill you later'.

A few minutes later, four orders of miso ramen had been placed, though Kakashi ordered for Naruto seeing as how he couldn't take his hand off the boy's mouth without the blond going berserk. Naruto just sat there, trying his best to bite Kakashi hand as he watched Teuchi get out some of those nasty blocks.

'This is so stupid! I swear this stuff is nasty as hell, why the hell is he making me ea- wait, what's he doing with the blocks?' Naruto thought to himself as Teuchi placed the ramen blocks into a pot of water, and then placed it onto a wood-lit stove. 'He's... boiling it?' Naruto thought curiously as suddenly Kakashi took his hand off of Naruto's mouth, allowing though Naruto remained silent. The blond tried to look over Teuchi's shoulder by sitting up out of his seat, trying to see how the ramen was made, before he was forced to sit down by Sakura.

"Not in the mood Naruto...." The pink-haired girl whispered in a low manner as Naruto merely nodded his head in fear, sitting still in his seat while waiting for Teuchi to finish the ramen. About ten minutes later, after some intense stirring and the adding of the ingredients, Teuchi brought out the pot of cooked miso ramen, pouring out a bowl for each of the ninja.

"Itadekimasu." Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi said slowly before they began eating the ramen, Naruto staring blankly at the bowl of noodles in front of him. He got out a pair of chop sticks and began poking at the noodles, finding them very, very soft. The blond raised an eyebrow as he grabbed a small bunch of the noodles and brought them to his lips.

'Okay, so they made it soft... there's still no way this stuff is good...' Naruto thought to himself, though he was a little less sure of this statement than he was previously. Naruto stared at the noodles for a few more moments before tossing them into his mouth. Naruto sat there for a second, taking in the flavor of the noodles before swallowing them, blinking a few times as he stared at the bowl of ramen for several seconds...

Before immediately attacking the remaining noodles and broth in the bowl. As Naruto devoured the contents of the bowl, Kakashi just stared at his blond student with a raised eyebrow, sighing a bit as he inwardly smiled. 'Just like his mother...' The silver-haired ninja thought to himself with an inward chuckle, just as Naruto finished the bowl.

'Oh sweet Kami!' Naruto thought as he stared at the empty contents of the bowl. 'Why has this been kept from me for so long!' The blond immediately held his bowl up to Teuchi, a grin on his face.

"Yo, ramen guy, another bowl please!" He said with gusto, which made Teuchi laugh a little.

"Now that's the spirit!" Teuchi said with a laugh as he immediately got another bowl of ramen ready for Naruto, who sat excitedly in his seat for the next bowl. Sakura and Sasuke both looked over at their blond teammate with some confusion, after all, earlier in the mission he had stated that all you had to do to scare off thieves was to set ramen blocks in from of the restaurant.

Still, both were too tired to really care, so they just went about finishing up the rest of their ramen while Naruto started up on his second bowl.

---------- 10 Minutes and 4 Bowls of Ramen Later ----------

They couldn't believe, they just couldn't believe it. Six bowls of ramen... six bowls of ramen and he was only just now getting full. Even Ayame and Teuchi who had seen many a people eating ramen in their stand... but they had almost never seen someone stomach six bowls at once... well, unless they were an Akimichi. Naruto, not noticing the stares, merely sat there, patting his stomach as he picked at his teeth.

"Okay, it might've started out bad, but this mission didn't suck after all..." The stuffed blond said as he released a content burp. "Oh yeah... this is the most I've ever eaten in one sitting... ever..." Naruto said in an almost dreamy matter, once again causing eyebrows to raise all around him.

"... Seriously, this is the most you've eaten at once?" Sakura asked first, Naruto just nodding as he continued picking his teeth.

"Well, yeah. Its not like I could steal this much food and get away... and I wouldn't eat all of the animals I caught... so I could never really come close to this kind of meal." The blond said with a bow of his head. "Thanks, I'll be sure to come around again soon!" Naruto said with a smile, one that was returned by Teuchi and Ayame.

"We hope so." The two said with their own bow, before Naruto got out of his seat.

"Alright, let's get going." Naruto said quickly as he began walking off, the rest of the team following him rather slowly, as the raccoon marks were still getting to them.

'I can't believe this is the most he's ever eaten... what was the most he's eaten before this... what has he had to eat to survive... how many days did he not eat anything...' Sakura's mind once again was at work, producing question after question as she thought about what the blond had said. Though she wasn't completely above his status as a crook... she was beginning to wonder just how much more there was to her thieving teammate than she, or others for that matter, knew.

Sasuke, while slightly disquieted by what Naruto said, wasn't exactly stuck on those thoughts. 'Its not all that surprising really...' The black haired boy thought to himself in all honesty. Truly it wasn't surprising, after all, one could easily suspect that food wouldn't exactly come readily to a street orphan... still, the news itself was unsettling, even for the Uchiha.

Kakashi just sighed as he once again pulled out his book. Though the Jounin had not known exactly how limited Naruto's food gathering was, he, like the Uchiha next to him, easily suspected Naruto eating habits, or lack thereof. The kid reeked of animal blood, and Naruto's first theft on file was the for a loaf of bread. Still, Kakashi began wondering just what kinds of food Naruto came across. The scarecrow looked down at his blond pupil, before turning his eyes back to his book, after all, this silence was golden for reading, and it wouldn't last once they arrived at the Mission Station....

---------- Mission Station ----------

"YOU!!!!!" And wouldn't you know Kakashi was right. Almost as soon as they walked into the Tower, the mood amongst the team dropped again. Despite Naruto having found the last mission's end well, the memory of the previous two missions were still fresh on his mind, as well as Sasuke's and Sakura's. Though the Jounin would've never imagined it, he finally saw that the rumors he heard from other Jounin were true... first mission days were a nightmare.

It only got worse when all four of them actually got the mission desk, and Naruto laid his eyes upon not only Sarutobi, but also Iruka.

"Do you know just what the hell we had to do today?!" Naruto shouted as Kakashi's level of embarrassment, as well as Iruka's, rose. After all, Naruto wasn't shouting at just anyone, he was shouting at The Hokage! However, what Iruka and Kakashi didn't notice was that Sarutobi actually looked... well, entertained by Naruto's display.

And he was. The old man knew this day was coming, the day when that excited little kid he brought into his office would become a ninja, and experience his first D-Rank missions... and immediately shout him down for not having told him about the missions. 'His father was almost as insulted his first time around...' Sarutobi thought with a chuckle as he popped open an eye at Naruto. 'Though, he's acting far more like his mother in this instance...' The aged Hokage thought with an inward chuckle as Naruto kept on ranting.

"And another thing!" Naruto shouted again, Kakashi quickly moving over to slap his hand over Naruto's mouth again.

"So sorry Hokage-sama... the team just had a particularly bad patch of missions, he meant you no disrespect." Kakashi said with a sweat-drop, noticing Iruka giving him a 'oh yeah, we can tell' look as he sighed... just before Sarutobi began chuckling, catching everyone's attention.

"Its quite alright Hatake-san, many Genin are frustrated by their first D-Rank missions, its hardly unusual....." The old man stated as he took a deep breath on his pipe, before blowing out a cloud of smoke. "Though, I have to admit, this is the first time I've actually had a Genin shout at me." He added with a a shake of his head before motioning for Kakashi to come over. "Now, if you would just come over here and give me the scrolls so that I can file them later."

Kakashi merely nodded as he let go of Naruto, the young boy nearly beginning his rant anew before both Sakura and Sasuke, punched him in the back of the head, temporarily silencing the boy as he nursed the small lump that came from the strike. As he approached the desk, Kakashi reached into his flak jacket and pulled out the mission scrolls, handing them to Sarutobi, who took them and slipped them into his robes.

"Alright, now I do believe the matter of your pay is in order..." He said, speaking more specifically to the Genin as, quickly, Iruka produced three bags, and threw them over to the Genin. Sakura and Sasuke easily caught their bags with ease, while Naruto, who was still nursing his wound, got clunked on the head while not paying attention.

"Hey, what's the big id-" Naruto started off as he looked down at what was thrown at him. The Uzumaki immediately silenced himself as he looked down at bag, noticing little glimmering things coming out of it. He knelt down and picked up the bag, pouring as much of the contents that would fit into his other hand as he could. Naruto stared wide-eyed at the small coins that filled the palm of his hand. Most of them were small, circular copper mon, but there were some ovular, silver cho-gin in their as well. Naruto counted up all the coins and actually smiled a little bit, he'd never had this much money at once in his entire life.

Naruto immediately stood up straight and quickly nodded in his head. "Thank you Iruka-sensei, thanks old man!" Naruto shouted, ducking before he was once again clubbed in the back of the head. Iruka and Sarutobi merely shook their heads at Naruto's display while smiling.

'You're welcome Naruto.' They almost simultaneously thought as the blond was slowly dragged out of the room by Kakashi, Team 7 waving goodbye to the pair as Iruka and Sarutobi began getting ready to close the station for the night.

Once they excited the Tower, Kakashi dismissed the team for the rest of the day. "Remember to be at the bridge on time tomorrow..." The scarecrow said before finally disappearing in a puff of smoke. The Genin members of the team looked at each other and waved goodbye before heading out, Sakura and Sasuke to clean up their still stinging raccoon wounds, and Naruto to finish some business...

---------- A Few Minutes Later ----------

The owner of the old tailor shop in Konoha yawned as he sat behind his desk. It had been a long down with few customers, and he was just waiting for closing time to come around so that he could start heading back home. Just as he was about to yawn again, he suddenly heard someone enter his shop. He looked over with one open eye... and saw no one. Surprised, the tailor stood up and checked around, only to still see absolutely no one person. Suddenly, he heard clothes being taken in another row, this time spying a certain spikey, blond head moving amongst the racks of clothes.

The shop owner immediately got out his broom and ran for the area he saw the spikey blond hair, and was prepared to pummel the person he suspected of being Naruto Uzumaki... only to find absolutely no one there, again. In a hurry, the tailor ran for the door, looking outside to make sure that he didn't escape while he was getting his broom...

"Hello?" He heard from behind him, turning around quickly... to see the blond boy... standing at his desk with a bunch of clothes on top of it. The tailor did a quick double-take as he rubbed his eyes, not entirely sure if he was hallucinating or not. Passersby who had just happened to peak into the shop window also immediately stared at the sight. After all, this was the first time anyone in Konoha would have seen Naruto Uzumaki, the Street Fox, actually making a purchase versus just stealing the goods he needed.

The tailor immediately went up to the desk, still staring very cautiously at Naruto, as he slowly counted up all the clothes he had taken off the racks. When he was finished he looked down at the Street Fox, still watching every single move he made.

"That would be about... four cho-gin." The tailor said cautiously, as Naruto reached into his pocket, pulled out the coin bag, and got out exactly that, four cho-gins. The tailor thought this was all just some sort of dream as he felt the cool metal fall into the palm of his hand, bringing one of the silver pieces to his mouth and biting it to be sure it wasn't a fake.

"Thanks, bye!" Naruto shouted as he ran off, the tailor even more surprised that the cho-gin was real. Naruto walked down the street with his new clothes in tow, smiling a bit as he slowly slid into an alleyway, leaving behind him a street of citizens who were still trying to grapple with this new development.

'Eh, today wasn't so bad after all.' The blond thought to himself as he put his bag away, chuckling as he heard the jingle of the coins inside of it.

----------------- Author's Notes --------------

Mon- Japanese Currency circa 1600s and early 1700s, a round copper coin.

Cho-gin - Japanese Currency circa early 1700s, a silver piece shaped like your pinky.

I never really liked the idea of paper money in Naruto, it just didn't seem... well, right. So, for my purposes, I decided to replace it with a few older pieces of Japanese currency: the copper Mon, the silver Cho-gin, and the Gold Ryo. If you want to see what these look like in more detail, check out my profile page.

OMAKE (Special Shout Out to Robot Chicken and Ted Turner)

Team 7 sat in their clearing, relaxing after a particularly rough training session, when suddenly Hinata Hyuga ran up to them, a worried look on her face.

"Hinata, what's up?" Naruto asked as Hinata tried to catch her breath, pointing out towards another part of the forest.

"Gai and Lee are knocking down trees for training!" She shouted, as suddenly Sasuke stood up and pounded his fist into his hand.

"That burns my ass!" The black-haired boy shouted as Sakura held onto his shoulder.

"Forget it Sasuke-kun, there's nothing we can do..." Sakura said as suddenly Kakashi stood up triumphantly.

"Maybe we can't... but Captain Planet can!" Kakashi shouted, as suddenly all four Genin looked up at him and smiled, each giving a quick 'Yeah!' shout as they got together. "Alright, let's do this!" Kakashi shouted as Sakura started them off.

"Earth!" She shouted, as Sasuke quickly followed up.

"Fire!" He shouted, quickly followed up by Naruto.

"Wind!" The blond declared, soon followed by Hinata.

"Water!" The shy girl said, as Kakashi prepared to shout... only to be interupted by some South American Kid.

"Heart!"

PUNCH!

Ma-Ti was quickly punched in the jaw by Kakashi, who stared angrily at the boy.

"Get the hell out of here Ma-Ti, nobody likes you!" Kakashi shouted, Ma-Ti just glaring back at him as he walked away, muttering something about 'nothing ever changes'. With that done, Kakashi merely coughed into his fist and then went on.

"Lightning!"

"GO PLANET!" They all shouted at once, as suddenly their chakra jumped out of their bodies, combining together as a lone figure appeared in the midst of the chakra.

"With your powers combined..." A voice form the figure began, before suddenly the chakra disappeared, leaving.... Ted Turner, covered in blue paint, dressed up like Captain Planet? "I AM CAPTAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN PLANEEEEEEEEEET!"

Naruto stared at the crazed man for a second before shaking his head. "Noooo... you're Ted Turner..." Naruto said slowly as Turner looked his way.

"No! I'M CAPTAIN PLANET!" He shouted back as Naruto shook his head again.

"No, you're Ted Tur-" And just before Naruto could finish that statement, Ted Turner gave Naruto a solid kick to his privates, leaving the blond in a fetal position on the ground.

"CAPTAIN PLANET!" Ted Turner shouted as everyone slowly began backing away from the crazed man... only to have Ted Turner run up to Hinata. "NOW WHY HAVE YOU CALLED CAPTAIN PLANET?!" He shouted at the shy girl who nearly fainted thanks to the shock.

"Ummm... Ga-Ga-Gai and Lee are... knocking down tre-" Hinata began, only to have Ted Turner suddenly run from her, heading towards the direction of Gai and Lee.

"CAPTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN PLANEEEEEEEEEEEEET!" Ted Turner shouted as he ran through the woods, being sure to avoid every single tree and plant in his way. On his way, he ran by Asuma, who was smoking a cigarette in the forest. As Ted Turner ran by, Asume blew out some smoke and dumped some of the ashes on the ground.

Ted Turner immediately returned, looked at the ashes, and then looked at Asuma...

PUNCH!

"CAPTAIN PLANET!" Ted Turner shouted at an unconscious Asuma, before running off again.

Suddenly we cut to Gai and Lee, who were currently kicking down trees in an attempt to improve the strength of their leg muscles.

"Lee! This training has been most helpful for our purposes, I don't know why we didn't think of that sooner!" Gai declared loudly to his pupil, Lee nodding vigorously.

"Yes sir- wait, who's that?" Lee started in a startled manner, pointing where Ted Turner was running from. Gai looked over at Ted Turner and smiled, before looking back at Lee.

"That's Ted Turner Lee, a man who's flames of youth have led him to environmental protection. Yes Lee, Ted Turner is a man we should all look up t-" Gai began, before suddenly both he and Lee were stabbed in the arm with kunai, courtesy of Ted Turner.

"CAPTAAAAAAAAAAAIN PLANEEEEEEEEET!" Ted shouted, as suddenly Lee poked him on the shoulder.

"You got a kunai in my arm!" Lee complained, Ted Turner laughing as he sneered at Lee.

"AND MY FOOT IN YOUR GUT!" Ted Turner shouted as he kicked Lee in the stomach. "CAPTAAAAAAAAAAAIN PLANEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!" Ted Turner shouted as he began dragging both Gai and Lee... to the Hokage Tower.

--------- Top of the Hokage Tower ---------

"WHAT DO YOU WANT MR. TURNER, PLEASE?!?!?" Gai shouted as Ted Turner held both Gai and Lee by a rope, leaving them hanging above the streets of Konoha. Ted Turner merely laughed as he pulled out a piece of paper, and put it in front of both Lee and Gai.

"JUST SIGN THIS PLEDGE NOT TO KNOCK OVER ANYMORE TREES AND I'LL LET YA GO!" He shouted as Lee and Gai nodded, signing the paper with pens that Ted Turner had supplied them.

"OKAY OKAY!" Gai shouted as they finished, Ted Turner looking over the document.

"This looks to be in order..." Ted Turner said silently as... he just let Gai and Lee go drop to their deaths. "CAPTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN PLANEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!" Ted shouted as Gai and Lee fell, Ted hearing a distant 'splat' before he turned...

To look at each and every single one of YOU!

"PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT, OR I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! CAPTAAAAAAAAAAAAIN PLANEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!"

R&R


	19. Chapter 19

Naruto: Alone

Hey there people, its me Arganaut, and I'm here to provide you with the next chapter of Naruto: Alone! Anyway, got a lot of positive reviews from the last chapter, all of which I'm thankful for. Quite a few of you commented on my Elemental Chakra system, some of you going so far as to commend my 'ingenuity'.

I must say, however, that I did have help coming up with the system, from two good friends (FictionReader98 and Zoneshifter D)

Otherwise, all I have to say is thanks, and that I'll try to repeat such things in the future (hopefully some bits during this chapter will be good as well).

I also got a few responses from you all saying yfou'd check out the works of the authors I mentioned, and to that I'd like to say thanks for that as well.

But hey, you don't want generalized statements, you want cold, hard replies. So, let's get to that-

**VFSNAKE-** If I'm not mistaken, quite a few of my earlier Omakes did have Naruto coming out on top (one such being the omake which inspired the concept of the Street Fox Fan Club). And if it was just Naruto taking Sakura's hits, then yeah, it'd be a stereotype, but in this story Sakura has a pretty strong grip on both him and Sasuke (when she's angry) so I'd like to think I'm doing something a little original there.

Silver Warrior- YES! Let us overrun this site with Robot Chicken Jokes! MWAHAAHAH... I mean... yes, I am a fan as well.

Gabo 1602- Oh believe me, wind can be very interesting...

Vorago Atrox- Thanks for the compliments, though I did have some help with the elemental systems thanks to people aforementioned above. And I do hope that I will continue to entertain you, and everyone else.

soundless steps- Thanks, and believe me, it will definitely be worth the wait.

marc- Thanks for the high score, and I have been thinking of a few original techniques and jutsu.

**FictionReader98- **Thanks for another detailed and complimentary review. I hope whatever elements that made the previous chapter remain in not only this chapter, but throughout the entire rest of the story. And yes, the days when Captain Planet was a show I could actually enjoy were far more innocent days indeed. Above all else, you're welcome.

VampyreVixen68- Dude, I know they don't cure most diseases, but chill pills are quite good for insanity.

**Paintball-Gamer-** Even if they had rabies, I'm sure that Konoha has medicine for such situations... maybe... perhaps.... hopefully. Anyway, thank you for the review man, glad you enjoyed the chapter.

**Dragon Man 180- **Well, I can't say what exactly will happen during Wave, though let's just say I have quite a few changes in mind.

**Zoneshifter D-** Man, its been a LOOOOONG time since you've left a review for my story. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as much, if not more than last.

adngo714- You know, I've gotten a lot of reviews like this, and I think its time I explained a little something. First and foremost, yeah, the Street Fox name and Street Rat name are similar. The reason being because when I was first righting this fic, I drew some inspiration from Aladdin. Of course, now I'm moving onto Canon events, and events of my own creation.

KenHz- Hey, thanks for reviewing, and leaving such a constructive review at that. You'd actually be surprised at the process I went through in order to get to this point when it comes to narration: at first I tried a 1st POV, but that ended up actually limiting how much input I could get from other characters. So then I tried multiple POVs, see if that could work, but that required so much switching around that it drove me nearly insane when I would try to read my work and figure out exactly who was telling it.

I guess the 3rd POV became my choice because it allowed me so much freedom in telling the story. And yes, I did get quite a bit of inspiration from old westerns, I was practically raised on old Clint Eastwood movies after all.

I appreciate your input, however, I must respectfully rebut: believe me, this might be a bit cut and dry, but I find that it cuts down on exposition, and cuts down on the amount of confusion.

But, anyway, thanks for the compliment, I like that you find the story interesting, and I will keep your review in mind. I hope to see you reviewing here again.

Well, that's all the reviews, now let's get onto the next chapter of Naruto Alone!

Chapter 19: Troublesome Discoveries

---------- Team 7 Clearing Grounds ----- 1:00 P.M ----- 2 Weeks Later ----------

"You three, keep it up, only fifteen minutes of this and then you'll be able to catch your breath..." A certain silver-haired Jounin spoke out from behind his favorite book as he watched his three pupils go about their exercises. We come upon Team 7's training pretty early in the afternoon, the three Genin pouring their time and effort into their exercises whilst the only Jounin in the clearing watched them from behind his book. Kakashi Hatake made sure to keep a close eye on all of his students, after all, the exercises they were doing could end up injuring them if some accident would occur.

As the scarecrow watched his students train, he recalled the previous two weeks. After having tested their chakra types, Kakashi went about analyzing just how in control of, and how skilled, his charges were when it came to their chakra, a rather long and, at times, boring process, needlessly extended for over a week because of the now mandatory missions his team was forced to go on every single day. Three days ago, however, Kakashi had a good lock on their chakra: how much they had, how much control they possessed, and, considering their elemental chakra types, how he should go about training them.

Even before the tests, Kakashi had certain feelings about what the results would end up being, feelings that proved, for the most part, correct. In Sakura's case, not only had the least amount of chakra in the group, but also far less chakra than he initially hoped she had. This was bad, considering her elemental affinity for earth. Earth jutsu not only required great control to force one's chakra into the ground, but also a great amount of chakra in order to force the earth in the ground into the desired jutsu. Fortunately, Sakura had the control... unfortunately she had to get her stamina up.

Sasuke, in the meantime, proved to be much closer to being able to use jutsu for both of his elements. With both a lightning and fire chakra type great amounts of chakra were needed to perform, Sasuke's control was a matter of great importance. After all lightning required significantly more chakra control than fire. Seeing as how the boy was already capable of using fire jutsu, Kakashi saw it fitting to get the boy started on being able to use his lighting chakra. He'd have to have his chakra control increased though, and would require a huge leap in it.

Then there was Naruto, who fit his elemental affinity so well it was almost serendipitous. A majority of wind jutsu required very little chakra control, and only needed a horde of one's elemental chakra to activate... it was almost as if these jutsu were tailor made for the Street Fox. Naruto's reserves were great, at levels that most ninja could only dream of achieving, so exhaustion from techniques would be the least of Naruto's problems... however performing them was going to be another matter entirely. It wouldn't be a matter of control, mind you... but it would be a manner of being able to properly use hand seals to mold the chakra for the seals.

So, he put them on training programs to help try to fix this, and they've been at them for the past three days. He looked over at Sasuke, who was standing on top of a river, sweating bullets as he held onto the Ram seal, the sight of the Uchiha becoming so stressed out by his training caused the last Hatake to chuckle from behind his book. The water walking was a good chakra training exercise on its own, forcing the person trying to perfect it to constantly adjust to the moving surface of the water, without sinking an inch, by pushing of chakra in a large enough amount (and a changing amount at that) towards the water, without pushing in so much that the ninja would be wasting it. On top of that it was also good practice for lightning jutsu since a major factor of using a lightning jutsu was pushing out a constant amount of chakra to keep them active.

It was also good for stamina... and he was able to see Sasuke fall into the river ever few minutes. Always a nice way to keep one's self entertained. With that, Kakashi's gaze wandered over towards Sakura, looking up at the pink haired girl as sweat bullets thanks to the exercise he decided to put her through. For Sakura, Kakashi focused mainly on her chakra supplies, and how to increase them. Of course one of the best ways to do this was through tree climbing. Tree climbing by itself would've been good for most people, as the mere act of running up and down the side of a tree while balancing out the chakra in their feet would be tired for most. Unfortunately Sakura was not most people. Her control of her chakra was so great that she could effortlessly do the regular exercise... so this forced Kakashi to add some difficulty to the mix.

Now looked on as the pink haired kunoichi used her chakra to stick upside-down on a branch, spouting off sweat as she was also forced to hang onto weights, each weighing about twenty pounds. The girl's face had, by this time, turned a dark red as she looked down at Kakashi, giving him a look so nasty that he thought she was hoping he'd come over just so that she could drop the weights on his head. Possible murderous intent aside, this was good for Sakura. It would take a long time before she'd get enough chakra to perform any earth element techniques... but she was on her way.

Finally, Kakashi looked over to Naruto, who was currently going through the same set of seals he'd been going through for the past few days. Naruto needed only a small amount of additional chakra training before Kakashi decided to move him onto actually learning a jutsu... though, calling this technique a jutsu severely pushed the definition of the word.

Wind Release: Gust was a weak, weak D-Rank jutsu; when the user finished the seals and slammed their hands together, a small whirlwind would be forced from their palms, and towards the intended direction. The main, and practically only use, for this jutsu was to help Genin learn how to use their wind chakra, and to get them ready for other wind techniques. There were other ways of training, of course, like trying to cut a leaf in half with just your chakra.

However, Kakashi wasn't ready to teach Naruto the techniques which required that level of control... nor did he think his more... active student would have the patience to 'cut a damn leaf in half'. For now, Kakashi merely wanted Naruto to learn the more chakra-mass focused techniques, and as such learning Gust would help push the blond along the path.

The other plus was that Naruto was truly excited about this training... well, he was at first. Now, as the boy once again tried to activate it, he was just becoming very frustrated. The silver-haired Jounin looked up into the tree to see the kunai he had jammed into one of the branches a few days earlier. Kakashi had left Naruto with a very specific goal: use the jutsu to force the kunai from the branch. Of course Naruto first thought that this would be a piece of cake... though, even now, the former Street Fox was proving Kakashi's original diagnosis of his weakness correct. Naruto was having a lot of trouble using the seals to mold his elemental chakra.

This wasn't a cake walk to be sure: coming out of the Academy most Genin are only taught the basic ram seal in order to perform their low-level techniques, the Chunin at the Academy leaving it to the Jounin to teach the students about elemental chakra, something Kakashi now wished he could talk to the Chunin about.... with a very point knife present.

Still, Naruto was making some progress. At the very beginning the boy could barely even get a small breeze out. At least now he was able to create some semblance of the actual jutsu... but each time he used the jutsu, he couldn't send it towards the direction of the kunai. With that thought, Kakashi merely shrugged as he walked back to his spot, and turned his attention back to his book, leaving his pupils to their own business.

Of course, their business, as the end of their current training drew to a close, was inwardly voicing their frustrations over their training, the Genin of Team 7 muttering what could only be curses under their breaths as they held out for those last few minutes. As each of them began to finish up, they each thought over what had been happening, and what they had been planning.

The former thief in the group was bored. Plain and simple. There was good reason for this too, after all, Naruto had been used to his life being nothing but one spontaneous action after another: going out to steal, being chased through town, either successfully evading the Chunin or just completely embarrassing them as they tried to catch him. Now he didn't need to steal anymore, those village-crossing chases were no longer there for him to, as sick as it might've sounded, enjoy, and he had gotten pretty settled into his routine these past couple weeks of training and missions.

The blond had hoped to solve this boredom by trying to learn this jutsu... but the only thing the jutsu was managing to do to him was frustrate him to no end, a point punctuated when Naruto once again slammed his hands together to try and activate the jutsu, only to have the gust of wind head to the far-right of the kunai. Naruto cursed loudly once again as he flashed through the seals, preparing for another go.

The pink-haired kunoichi in the group had been busy with two things. The first of which was training. Quite simply the stronger she got, the more of use she could be to the group, and the more of use she could be to the group, the more Sasuke would, hopefully, notice her. However, her crush wasn't her only teammate she had been keeping on her mind.

Ever since their first set of missions, Sakura had also been puzzling over her blond teammate. The idea of actually being asked, by the Hokage, to become a ninja of the village was something that sounded so outlandish Sakura didn't think it possible, yet according to Naruto that's what happened. So, in an effort to clear up the mess and confusion, the green-eyed girl took it upon herself to figure out why and how... though, so far she had gotten absolutely nowhere.

Sakura wasn't going to give up though, after all, she prided herself as the most intelligent of the kunoichi coming out of the Academy that year, and she wasn't about to let this mystery slip between her fingers.

Lastly there was the brooding Uchiha, who was currently just trying to stay up out of the water for the remaining time. Sasuke had to admit, ever since Kakashi had shown the abilities of the elements two weeks ago, he had been looking forward to the chakra training that would inevitably take place. It wasn't just because of learning how to use lightning jutsu and to greatly increase his level of chakra control, two 'weapons' that should prove very... very useful against him...

However, there was one thing that stuck in Sasuke's mind as he recalled Kakashi's explanation of the chakra elements. That lightning jutsu he used... the ball of sparks and lightning he had concentrated in his hands. While the black-haired young man couldn't have known what it did exactly, he knew it couldn't have been just for show... there was too much chakra concentrated in that little space.

While Sasuke didn't see the exact seals used for the jutsu, he did make out that it was a three seal combination. Sasuke smirked, as soon as he learned how to properly use his lightning chakra, he was going to immediately start trying to figure out which three seals Kakashi had used...

Suddenly, both Sasuke and Sakura were pulled from their thoughts as Naruto loudly shouted in frustration, the blond grinding his teeth in frustration as he cracked his neck.

"That's it! I'm doing it this time!" He shouted as he quickly flashed through the seals; dragon, horse, monkey, rat, pouring obscene amounts of chakra into each seal, which caused Kakashi to sweat drop.

'Oh boy...' The scarecrow thought as he moved a little bit to the left. Naruto cracked his neck as he pulled his hands to the side, feeling the chakra building up in his hands.

"This is it!" Naruto shouted as he slammed his hands together... and ended being blown back by the force of the winds produced by the jutsu, slamming into the tree that stood just behind where Kakashi had been standing, said Jounin merely covering his face with the book to avoid the debris being blown towards it. As the winds died down, both student and teacher glanced to see the effects of the 'failed' jutsu became apparent.

Sakura's hair had been blown straight out to the side, Sasuke was now just barely standing on the edge of his toes to avoid falling forward into the water, and the tree that had the kunai lodged in it had all of its leaves blown off... but the kunai remained safely lodged in place.

"Damn it!" Naruto shouted as his left eye twitched, a vein popping up on his forehead as Kakashi sweat dropped.

"Alright... I think that's enough for now..." Kakashi said slowly, as he began walking over towards Sakura. Sasuke released a breath he had been holding after nearly being blown over, resulting in him immediately sinking into the river, staying under for a second to cool down before swimming back to the shore. Meanwhile the scarecrow had managed to untie the weights from the kunoichi's wrists, pulling them away from her as she gracelessly dropped to the ground, landing on her back as she took several deep breaths, her energy almost completely spent.

Kakashi looked at his students with a small smile reaching his lips. Training till exhaustion or, in Naruto's case, injury... 'Hehe... Reminds me of the old days.' Kakashi thought to himself as he slung the weights effortlessly over his shoulder, walking away as Sakura slowly stood up, trying to force her hair to go back down after having been blown straight out. In the meantime the emotionless Uchiha had finally dragged himself out of the river, standing up somewhat shakily as he shook the water out of his hair. Naruto was just slowly standing up, cracking his back as he tried to get the kinks out of it after his 'crash landing'.

"Alright you three, good training today, I think we made some good progress..." Kakashi said, throwing the weights out to the side, making a quick mental note to come back to pick them up later. While his students responded with series of groans, Kakashi smiled. "At any rate, get up, it'll soon be time for missions." This was met with even more and louder groans, causing the silver-haired Jounin to laugh a little bit.

"Oh don't be so glum, today's going to be a bit different..." Kakashi quickly added, though he was more or less waved off by his students. The Jounin shook his head as he looked up at the sun... they should show up soon enough.

Joint missions and joint training exercises weren't uncommon things in Konoha. It was heavily influenced by one of the base values of the village: that the ninja were all stronger, and would become stronger, when they worked together. Often times teams came together to work with one and other because the Jounin thought that their students could learn something from either the other Genin in the team, or the other team's Jounin. Other times it was just a rather repetitive practice to 'bring each new generation of Genin closer to one and other'... which Kakashi either found annoying or completely useless, depending on the teams involved. In fact, Kakashi wasn't exactly thrilled about working with this particular team for the purpose that his fellow Jounin had in mind, helping his team get a bit more energized about their jobs as ninja... though, maybe his students could pick up something along the way as well.

Suddenly, his ears perked up as he smiled, looking down towards the south-east of the forest clearing. It took his Genin a few more moments, in their exhausted state, to feel the other sources of chakra coming towards them. Almost as suddenly as Team 7 sensed the approaching persons, three others wearing the Konoha headband walked into the clearing, causing all three Genin in Team 7 to sweat drop...

"Hello there Asuma." Kakashi said quite simply, said Sarutobi family member smirking as he took a deep drag on his cigarette.

"Hey there Kakashi." Asuma said in his normal gruff voice, Shikamaru, looking as bored as ever, and Chouji, who was currently munching on some chips, standing right beside him... but there was someone missing, someone Sakura was now looking around for.

"Hey... where's Ino-pig?" The pink-haired kunoichi said cautiously, while Sasuke also kept his eyes peeled for said blond girl. Suddenly, the bushes behind the Uchiha rustled, and before he could even turn to see what it was, the kunoichi of Team 10 jumped out from the shrubbery and grabbed onto Sasuke's back, wrapping her arms around his neck as she squealed.

"Hi Sasuke-kun!" Ino Yamanaka gushed as she held onto her crush, Sasuke trying to correct his stance to carry the new weight, not an easy task considering he just spent so much time water walking. Sakura, forgetting any exhaustion she may have felt, immediately prepared to eviscerate Ino.

"Get off of him Ino-pig, you're going to end up crushing him!" Sakura shouted at her 'rival', Ino immediately snapped her head over to her pink-haired nemesis, jumping off of Sasuke in order to look at Sakura face to face, this of course had the side effect of pushing Sasuke right into the dirt.

"Can it billboard brow, can't you see Sasuke-kun and I are having a moment?" The blond fan girl shouted back, Sakura scoffing as she shook her head.

"In your dreams Ino!" Sakura shouted back while Ino just began laughing derisively.

"How can that big head of yours be so empty? Can't you see Sasuke just plain old likes me?" The Yamanaka fired back, causing a vein to form on Sakura's head. In the next moment, a huge fight erupted between the two girls, Sasuke having been smart enough to make space between himself and his two fan girls moments beforehand. Course, this sight was a bit new to Kakashi. Sure, he had heard about rather raucous these two caused back at the Academy through word of mouth, but he never really imagined that it'd be as bad as this.

"Were they always like this?" Kakashi asked, leaning over to Naruto who merely shook his head.

"No... this is tame compared to the old days." Naruto whispered back to Kakashi, who merely nodded his head in acknowledgment while walking over to the remainder of Team 10, shortly followed by Naruto.

Shikamaru Nara stood, watching his teammate and her rival verbally battle it out, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he did. "Troublesome..." The shadow manipulator said in a somewhat grainy tone, whilst his best friend, a heavy-set Chouji Akimichi, merely disengaged himself from the situation, content to munching on his bag of potato chips.

Asuma merely sighed as he looked towards Kakashi, smoking his cigarette before he began speaking. "Young kunoichi, eh Kakashi?" Asuma finally stated as he looked over at his silver-haired compatriot, who merely shrugged.

"She was being so good too." Kakashi said with a small chuckle, putting his book back into his kunai pouch. "So, do you want to keep on chatting, or should we actually get down to work?" Kakashi asked his fellow Jounin, who merely nodded as he took one last deep breath of his cigarette, before tossing the butt to the ground.

"Might as well get right to it." Asuma replied, smoke still escaping his lungs as he reached down into his pouch for the mission scrolls he had procured beforehand. "Ino, that's more than enough." The smoker called out to his team's female member, who promptly stopped her arguing with Sakura and ran over to him, but not before sticking her tongue out at Sakura.

"Sasuke, Sakura, you too, we have mission work to begin." Kakashi quickly shouted before Sakura could do anything in retaliation to Ino, forcing the girl to cool her jets as she made her way over to the group, along with Sasuke. As the two teams finally re-assembled, Kakashi and Asuma stood together, both Jounin muttering back and forth between each other, though this was interrupted from time to time by small chuckles. Finally, when the two were done speaking secretively, Asuma stepped forward, a small smirk on his face as he twirled the mission scrolls around.

"Alright kids, listen up. Today, if you haven't already guessed, Team 7 and Team 10 will be doing some missions together today, three in fact." Asuma explained, as he looked at the three scrolls with a bored look. "However, after some discussion with Kakashi, we decided that having all six of you go on these missions all at once would be excessive, so we decided to split you all up further, get all these missions done at once." The smoker said with a growing smirk, one that caused Team 10 to suddenly feel... well, a bit uncomfortable.

With a quick flick of his wrist, Asuma tossed the first scroll at Sasuke, before pointing at both the Uchiha and Shikamaru. "Shikamaru and Sasuke, you two'll be doing some community service for Konoha by picking up the litter around town." The smoker quickly said, causing both Sasuke and Shikamaru to look at him with 'you've got to be kidding me' looks, ones that Asuma didn't take kindly too.

"Did I stutter, skidaddle!" Asuma shouted at Shikamaru and Sasuke, causing the two young Genin to nod quickly, before running off to do their jobs. Kakashi shook his head at his compatriot/friend, before suddenly the smoker tossed the second scroll to Sakura and Ino who, thanks to not having paid attention to Asuma's movements,choosing to pay a glance to Sasuke's retreating form instead, ended up with the scroll knocking Ino in the head, causing the blond girl to stumble into Sakura.

"Hey, watch it Ino!" The pink-haired kunoichi said in an indignant manner, causing her rival to glare at her. Before the two could exchange words Asuma whistled, catching their attention.

"Girls, before you two go for each other's throats, I though it'd be good for you two to know that you're going to be doing a mission together." The smoking Jounin said, which prompted the two kunoichi to look at him with a look not too dissimilar to the one Shikamaru and Sasuke had given him mere seconds ago. "The Aburame clan have requested some assistance, so get going: their address is in the scroll." Asuma said sternly, which was enough to get Sakura and Ino to nod and be on their merry way... of course, as soon as they were out of Asuma's vision that merry way turned into a rather shouty and angry way.

"Two-to-one says they kill each other before they make it to the Aburame compound..." Kakashi said with a bit of a chuckle, prompting Asuma to sigh.

"I know you're joking, but I'd seriously take those odds..." The young Sarutobi said with a sigh before looking at Chouji and Naruto. "Alright boys, that just leaves you two." Asuma said as he tossed the final scroll to the two boys. "Owner of rather nice restaurant is renting his place out to a private, rather small, dinner party today and doesn't have enough employees to bus and wait the tables: you two are going there to help out around the restaurant. The owner of the restaurant has explicitly stated for there to be no mischief while you're working..." Asuma said, as both he and Chouji gave Naruto a small look, the blond's left eye twitching as he sent back a rather dark look.

"What?" Naruto asked, somewhat irritated by this. Though, his irritation was quickly cut off when he saw Kakashi giving him a 'cool it' look. Naruto took in a small breath through his nose, and raised his hands in defense. "You don't have to worry about me, I won't do anything, promise..." He stated in a rather bored manner, as if he had said the same thing several times to several people now... which he had over various missions. Asuma and Chouji nodded, before suddenly the smoker turned to his chubby student.

"By the way, Chouji, the 'mischief' also goes for you: no eating off of plates while your busing them. Also, the owner has said you two will be rather busy, so don't bet on having too long of breaks... if any." Asuma said slowly, which caused Chouji to, not only pale considerably, but to also slow up on how fast he was eating the potato chips, wanting to make them last. Course, when he reached back into the bag, and felt that there was not a single chip left, the boy groaned in disappointment.

"Oh man....." The Akimichi whined as he rolled up the empty bag between his hands, ready to throw it away when he had the chance. Asuma merely rolled his eyes at his student, before waving them off.

"Now, get along you two." The smoking Jounin said as Naruto and Chouji nodded, running off towards their mission destination. As the two Genin ran off, Kakashi and Asuma watched them, before looking at each other. "So, how do you think our teams will do?" Asuma asked as he threw away the butt of his old cigarette, and immediately pulled out a new one. The question caused the scarecrow to shrug.

"Well... we're sending Shikamaru and Sasuke, who are, respectfully, very lazy and very proud, off to do dirty manual labor. We're sending Ino and Sakura off on a mission... enough said right there. Finally, we're sending Chouji, an Akimichi in every since of the word, to a restaurant, with the fact that he'll likely be unable to eat there." Kakashi listed off, cracking his neck. "They're pretty much doomed..." The silver-haired Jounin joked... though, Asuma raised his eyebrow as he listened.

"What about Naruto?" The bearded Jounin inquired, causing Kakashi to look right at him.

"Naruto's a bit of a mischievous kid, I won't deny that: however, if there's one thing I know without a shadow of a doubt is that he's not going to risk his mission by goofing around... after all, his pay is at stake if he or Chouji messes up." Kakashi said with a small chuckle, Asuma shrugging as he lit his new cigarette up.

"Good point." The smoker relented as he took a deep drag, Kakashi merely smiling underneath his mask. "So... what do we do for the rest of the day?" Asuma asked as he looked at his friend, the scarecrow merely shrugging as he once again pulled out his book.

"I was thinking of catching up on my reading." Kakashi said with a curved eye, causing Asuma to sweat drop.

"Haven't you read those things several times already Kakashi?" Asuma asked curiously, Kakashi merely glancing over at the smoker.

"Your point?" The masked Jounin inquired, which only received a sigh from Asuma.

"I swear, porn addict doesn't even begin to describe you..." The bearded Jounin, and addict himself (to tobacco), commented, earning a small snort from his masked friend.

---------- Streets of Konoha ---------- An Hour Later ---------

Troublesome. That's the only word Shikamaru thought could appropriately describe his current situation. As he sat on a bench, a bag not even one-tenth of the way full of trash to his side, staring up at the sky with a dis-interested look, the Nara silently cursed Asuma, having by now guessed that his sensei had foreseen how this current mission set up would work.

After all, if there was one thing Shikamaru was not fond of when it came to these D-Rank missions was the amount of pointless busy work it would have him do.

This train of thought would always lead Shikamaru to the same place without failure. The shadow manipulator would think of all the D-Rank missions he'd have to do, from baby-sitting, to catching cats, to gardening, to picking up trash off the street, his current mission... he'd realize that these were all jobs someone else should've been doing, and that they weren't jobs for a ninja. Still, then Shikamaru would think about what jobs did belong to ninja, and those would've been even more bothersome to do. So, then the Nara would think that while the D-Rank missions were troublesome, he could at least get away with lazing about and doing nothing.

So, that's what he was doing now. Shikamaru was currently sitting on a bench along one of Konoha's many streets, looking up at the clouds as he tried to just sit and relax. Of course, in this case, there'd be one thing that would always stop him before he could get completely comfortable...

And that one thing just so happened to throw an empty bottle at Shikamaru's head, snapping him out of his daze.

"Hey, baka! Get up and actually do something!"

Sasuke Uchiha... the one guy who was more troublesome than Ino. At least with Ino, she'd only shout at him to do something for a few minutes, get frustrated, and then immediately stomp off, yelling about how lazy he was. Sasuke Uchiha, on the other hand was.... well, persuasive would be a word to describe what he was. Sadistic would've been another good word.

When shouting at him didn't work, Sasuke would then threaten bodily harm to the Nara. When that didn't work... well, he would actually make good on his threats. The Uchiha would throw pieces of trash at the Nara in order to snap him out of his thinking, the empty bottle only being one example thus far. So far he had thrown old rotten apples, old pieces of wood, either from furniture or something else.... shit, he had even thrown a WHOLE WATERMELON at him once... why the hell someone threw out a whole watermelon was still beyond Shikamaru's ability to guess.

However, that was beyond the point. Currently Shikamaru was giving Sasuke a bit of a dirty look as he nursed the bump that had unceremoniously formed on his head after being hit with an empty bottle as he once again began half-heartedly picking up pieces of trash with a stick.

"Troublesome..." The shadow manipulator groaned as he picked up a crumpled up piece of paper and tossed it in the garbage, Sasuke carefully watching to make sure his 'partner' for this mission was actually doing his job, before getting back to actually picking up trash himself.

Sasuke was pissed, there was no getting around that. The Uchiha already didn't like doing D-Rank missions: to him they were just a collection of rather silly or outright stupid tasks that wasn't befitting for an Uchiha. However, this was a whole new low... he was actually being reduced to picking garbage off of the street! This was the lowest of the low jobs he could've possibly been given! If it were up to Sasuke, he'd have thrown the little stick with the metal spike at Kakashi, and told him to pick up trash himself...

Unfortunately, it wasn't Sasuke's choice in the matter. As a ninja, he was bound to go through with the missions handed down to him by his sensei... but that didn't mean he liked it...

Oh no... if anything he hated doing this as much as the Nara did... but that only meant that he was going to make sure Shikamaru did just as much work as he did... if Sasuke was going to be in a constant state of agitation because of how much he loathed this job, then his 'mission partner' would be as well. Speaking of which, Sasuke turned his head to look back at the shadow manipulator... only to notice that Shikamaru was staring at the clouds again. Sasuke glared at the back of his fellow Genin's head... and slowly picked up a rotten tomato.......

"What the- WHAT THE HELL?!"

----------- Aburame Household ----------

Shibi Aburame stood in the middle of the road across from his clan's home, as still as a statue as he waited for whatever Genin that would be sent his way to assist with the clan's business. Normally he would have Shino help him with this sort of work... however, with his team booked solid on missions for today, Shibi needed some others to help him. The stoic Aburame wandered lightly who would be the Genin sent to help him when:

"-uh Ino-pig! Sasuke-kun likes me!"

"Right billboard brow, and pigs will fly!"

"Wouldn't mind sending this pig flying with a punch right now!"

Shibi was snapped out of his thoughts as he looked over to his right, and immediately spotted two female kunoichi walking his way. The Aburame clan head raised his eyebrows as he saw Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno making their way towards him, with the scroll he had filled out for the mission in the pink one's hand. Shibi recognized them as classmates of his son... though, he could've sworn Shino said that they had ended up on different teams.

'Must be a joint team exercise of some kind...' Shibi thought, as he simply shrugged off this rather minor anomaly. The Aburame turned to face the two girls as they continued walking along while shouting at each other. They eventually bumped into Shibi, who just stood as still as he had before, and then immediately snapped their attentions to the world around them. Immediately, both girls blushed at having bumped into the man, and bowed their heads.

"Sorry" Both kunoichi said in unison, as Shibi merely nodded, glad that these girls had manners when dealing with someone outside of each other.

"Apology for having bumped into me is accepted." Shibi said in a monotone manner, one that was a bit deeper than even Shino's, which made both Ino and Sakura pale a bit. "Now then, if you two are done wasting time by standing there and staring, there is work that needs to be done." Shibi said as he turned and began walking back towards the house.

Sakura and Ino looked beyond Shibi and saw the house: before realizing that this home was nothing like anything they had seen in Konoha before. The 'clan house' basically consisted of one large tear-drop shaped building, that sort of began twisting around towards the top. There were giant holes towards the top of the twisted top, four in fact, that circled around the very top of the cone.

Despite appearing to be made off the same material of the other buildings around Konoha, it was a different color, a dark brown color. As Shibi began walking up a flight of stairs towards the building's door... that's when Sakura and Ino noticed something even more odd. The Aburame clan building wasn't right on the ground: it was hanging from a cross-section of at least a dozen metal beams that were connected to an equal amount of large stone pillars that were on the outer-most parts of the clan grounds, helping to establish the border of the 'Aburame Clan Compound'.

"... kind of looks like some kind of hive..." Sakura mentioned, as Ino nodded. Both girls were aware of the fact that the Aburame clan was somewhat obsessed with bugs... but having never actually been in this part of Konoha to see where the Aburame normally lived... they would've never guessed that they actually built their house to be similar to an insect's home.

"You two coming?" Shibi asked as he stood at the top of the stairs, Sakura and Ino swallowing a lump in their throats as they began to ascend the stairs. As they got closer and closer to the 'hive building', the two girls' minds began sporadically imagining just what would be waiting for them on the inside of the building. Each imagined it looking like the inside of an actually hive, all sticky and gooey with a whole bunch of gunk smeared over what should've been furniture, with creepy crawlies all over the place. Indeed, these thoughts were making the girls become even more pale as their minds slowly entered panic mode. Though, before they could run away screaming their lungs out, they found themselves right beside of Shibi, standing at the door.

"You two should hurry up, there's no point in wasting time day-dreaming." Shibi said as he immediately began twisting the door knob around, Ino and Sakura trying to peel their eyes away from the doorway, so as to not see the unimaginable horrors of-

A nice foyer... wait, what?

Sakura and Ino stood there, jaws slacked as they stared upon the first room in the house; a foyer that had stairs that were on both sides of the room that lead to the second floor of the house, with a large pair of doors towards the back of the first floor of the room leading to who knew where. The room was well lit, with little candle-lamps hanging off the sides of the walls along the stairs and to the sides of both the entrance of the clan house, and the central pair of doors towards the back.

Course, it wasn't entirely normal: the walls were actually somewhat convex, curving outwards like the outside of the house. This had the effect of making the stairs that lead up to the second floor curve along with the wall, and forcing what windows that were in the room to be curved as well; making Sakura and Ino feel like they were in some sort of surreal painting. However, they noticed, the double doors were perfectly flat: telling them that there was much more behind the doors.

Aside from the strange structural designs, there was also the fact that there was so little furniture or decorations in the room: it seemed as if that if it couldn't serve some purpose, like the lamps providing light at night, it wasn't in this room... a theme that the girls suspected would be continued throughout the entire home.

"Sorry for the small mess: with most of the clan members out on missions now a days there's not much help to keep this place tidy." Shibi remarked as he walked towards the large double doors, causing both the girls to look around the room, back at Shibi, and then back towards the room. That's when Ino noticed a very tiny, very fine layer of dust that covered the little bit of furniture in the room, and the blond flower girl merely raised her eyebrows.

"What do you mean, its just a little dusty." Ino said, as the head Aburame looked back at her with a nod.

"Precisely...." Shibi said slowly as he opened the large set of doors, Sakura and Ino just giving each other a look, silently asking each other 'is this guy for real' before following said Aburame even deeper into the household. The next room behind the double-doors was much smaller than the foyer, and quite a bit darker. Only two little lamps helped to illuminate the room... though, there wasn't much to see. Indeed, aside from those lamps, the doors they had just walked through, and the new set of large doors on the other side of the room, there wasn't much to see.

Of course, then Shibi opened up the door to the next room; a room that was so dark that both the girls knew that as soon as they stepped into it, they wouldn't be able to see their hands in front of their own faces. There was no way, absolutely no way that they wou-

Then Shibi took off his sunglasses... an Aburame took off his sunglasses. Sakura and Ino stared at Shibi's back in amazement as, without even turning to look at the two girls, he spoke:

"Well, come on, the work is in here..." The clan head said coolly as he walked into the dark room, the two kunoichi only giving each other a quick look of excitement as they sprinted after Shibi, not believing that they were honestly going to get a chance to see what an Aburame set of eyes looked like. They had heard rumors, of course, but never before had they actually been able to see for their own eyes! Both girls knew that this would probably be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that would never present itself again.

As they made a mad-dash for Shibi, the bug-man merely stepped out of their way, causing them to dash right on by as he closed the door... enveloping the room in complete and total darkness. The sounds of the two girls tripping over each other and skidding across the floor are easily heard, as moans of pain can be heard from both of them.

"Jeez Ino-pig, watch where you put your hooves...." Sakura said to her rival in love, while trying to see if she could see anything in this darkness.

"Shut up! Knowing you, your giant forehead probably made you lose balance and fall all over yourself, and you just decided to take me down with you!" Ino retorted as both girls tried to glare at each other, a task made impossible without sight.

'What kind of Genin are these two....' Shibi thought apathetically as he walked over to the two of them, pulling out two pairs of glasses from his sleeve.

"My apologies: I am so used to coming in here with just clan members that I forget that you are not used to the darkness of this room like we are." The Aburame clan head said with an apathetic tone, similar to the one he voiced his personal thought in, as he gave each girl one of the glasses. The girls slowly moved the specs to their eyes, and were rather amazed by the immediate improvement in quality of their vision.

Yes, it was far from perfect: most of everything they were seeing was now colored with a bright yellow-green tone, and they still had some trouble making out the finer details, but these glasses at least allowed them to see where they were going. The two marveled at their new-found eyesight for a moment... before immediately remembering why they had sprinted into the pitch-black room in the first place.

They immediately spun around on their heels and looked right at Shibi, only to be immediately and thoroughly disappointed when they saw that he had put on a similar pair of glasses, the yellow tint on them hiding his eyes well. The girls looked downtrodden and depressed immediately following the reveal, causing Shibi's eyebrows to raise slightly.

"What?" The Aburame asked in his normal, bored tone, as both Sakura and Ino merely shook their head.

"Nothing sir." They each said in a disappointed tone, which Shibi merely shrugged off.

"Alright, then follow me, we need to get the Kikaichu egg-sacs to their new cages immediately..." Shibi said in a nonchalant manner, as Sakura and Ino immediately snapped to attention.

"Kikaichu..."

"Egg-sacs..."

Both girls slowly said these worlds one right after the other, as the finer details of the dark room were made clear by the glasses. Alongside the walls of the room were a long series of connect counters, with only two empty spaces in between the counters: one for the door Ino and Sakura has just walked through, and one for a locked door just to their right, leading to a different room. On these counters, however... were glass cages, each right beside the last..

Inside these cages were semi-transparent lumps of... hell, the two girls didn't know what! The only thing they could tell is that it looked soft, and had all this goo over it. Since they were transparent, the two girls could see the little, tiny eggs inside of the sacs, at least one-hundred eggs in the sac. There wasn't just one sac in each cage though, there were several, all grouped together. The two girls looked around, and noticed that the all of the counters had these cages with egg-sacs inside of them... except for one.

One cage had just one giant orb of stone with small craters on the surface of it, those craters themselves having small tunnels that seemed to go towards the center of the stone mass. Though, that wasn't the most disgusting part. Coming out of those tunnels, out of those craters, and out of those rocks... were those tiny eggs, and inside the cage, along with the rock and eggs, were tiny, tiny bugs, that were slowly wrapping those eggs in that gooey soft stuff...

Of course, Sakura's and Ino's reaction was immediate and powerful:

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

---------- Restaurant ---------- Six Hours Later ----------

"... that was boring..." Naruto said as he plopped himself down in a chair in a table removed from the party, cracking his neck as he looked over at the party guests. They had been working for the better part of six hours, busing tables, serving food, cleaning up messes, and throwing away trash, something that was, to Naruto, time consuming and boring all wrapped into one activity, especially considering the size of the party... which had peaked off at about sixty people, which had been keeping both him and Chouji working for the entire time, only just now finding time for a bit of a rest.

'Small dinner party my ass!' Naruto thought inwardly as he looked over at Chouji... who was, by now, sitting in the chair right beside Naruto... staring longingly at all the food being eaten by the party guests. Asuma had been right about the likely lack of breaks, what with this being their first break, and the party having been going on for about six hours, and Chouji... well, Chouji had been just as busy as Naruto, and right in front of food as well.

Naruto knew about the Akimichi's reputation for being big eaters, and often eaters at that... though, to Naruto, it still didn't excuse how the Akimichi right beside him was staring at each little bit of food that was being passed around, watching as each little mouthful of meat was swallowed... quite honestly, it was starting to creep Naruto out.

Just as Naruto was about to ask Chouji about his creepy obsession with the food, one of the party guests dumped a whole plate of meat into the trash, obviously having eaten too much already. Chouji's eyes seemed to narrow as he slowly stood up, Naruto only giving Chouji a dis-believing look.

"...." The Uzumaki said slowly, as he watched the rather chubby ninja lick his lips. "You wouldn't..." Naruto began as he slowly stood up as well, watching as the brown-haired Genin continued to just stare at the garbage can. "I know its been a long few hours... but you honestly couldn't... wouldn't... REALLY shouldn't..." Naruto stammered off, as Chouji just kept on staring. It was silent for a few seconds, and then, rather suddenly, Chouji made a mad dash towards the garbage can, Naruto easily catching the tubby boy, while quickly throwing him into a full-nelson.

"Come on man, its in the garbage! I haven't eaten food out of the trash in... I can't even remember!" Naruto shouted as he tried to keep the hungry Akimichi restrained, though slowly Chouji dragged both himself and Naruto towards the trash can.

"I don't care, I'm starving!" Chouji shouted back at the blond, who only grunted in a bit of annoyance.

"You don't even know what starving is!" Naruto said rather bluntly as he strained to hold Chouji back. The Akimichi took a deep breath as if about to try to retort, only to stammer as he quickly realized who he was talking to. This immediately calmed Chouji, which allowed Naruto to drag the boy back to his seat, the duo only getting some stares from everyone else in the restaurant. Both boys looked at the party guests, and gave an embarrassed apologetic look to them, before the guests began turning their attention back to the party.

Chouji, meanwhile, had gone from being amazingly obsessed about the food, to feeling rather sheepish at his outbreak. The Akimichi turned his head towards Naruto, bowing it a bit apologetically.

"Sorry about that... lost it there for a few seconds." Chouji quickly apologized, Naruto merely looking at the brown-haired boy before shrugging.

"Whatever, just be sure to keep a lid on it." The blond bluntly stated as he leaned back in his chair. Chouji, though a bit relieved that he hadn't stepped on metaphorically stepped on Naruto's toes, still felt like he had gone a bit far.

"Still, considering all the stories my dad told me about you..." Chouji began, as the blond merely waved him off again.

"Don't worry about it..." Naruto said in a rather bored tone as he yawned a bit. The brown-haired Genin just nodded as he turned his attention back to the party guests, both Genin just sitting at the table, waiting to be called again. After a short amount of time, however, the words of Chouji's last sentence sank into Naruto's skull, causing the blond boy to narrow his eyes a bit.

'_Stories my dad told me about you_... Stories...' Naruto thought to himself as he turned his head towards Chouji.

"What do you mean by stories?" The former Street Fox asked in a rather pointed manner, as his chubby mission-partner just shrugged.

"Well, you know, stories." Chouji began, causing Naruto to roll his eyes; thinking he meant diatribes about what a terrible person Naruto was, or how he was some kind of scum. "My dad doesn't normally talk about a lot of people like that, but he seemed to respect you a bit..." The Akimichi continued, causing Naruto's eyebrows to fly up, almost as if they were going to tear right off of his face.

"Respect?" Naruto asked, saying the word as if Chouji had said it in a foreign tongue.

"Well... yeah. I could never figure out why he respected you exactly, but, to me, he seemed to take a small shine to you... even after ya stole his food that one time." Chouji said, the blond Genin looking down to the side... this new revelation piling on top of the one his teammates gave him on their first day of missions.

'First I figure out the old man doesn't just offer up ninja positions to people... now Chouji's telling me his pops respected me...' Naruto thought to himself, before verbalizing the one question that was on his mind.

"Where was he then?" Naruto asked Chouji, who merely gave him a somewhat confused look. "If your dad took such a shine to me, why didn't he help me out? I mean, I'm not one for pity, but some food,clothes, or money... hell, anything would've been appreciated." The former street urchin said in a very irritable tone, as Chouji thought to himself for a few seconds.

"Well... that's.... a good question..." The Akimichi said with a shrug. "You'd have to ask my dad to know... even then I doubt there'd be much of an answer there..." Chouji continued, as Naruto just stared at him for a few seconds... before shrugging.

"Meh... not that big of a deal I suppose......" Naruto said in a very weak manner as he just looked forward, Chouji accepting that as an answer as he dropped the subject.

Naruto, meanwhile, hadn't quite gotten beyond thinking about the subject. For several minutes, Naruto puzzled over this newly acquired information... something he was beginning to grow quite annoyed with.

'I swear... when did my life stop adding up? A few weeks ago, it was simple: I had to survive on my own because most people hated that I had the Kyubi sealed in me, the adults would try to scare the kids into not liking me, and the only help I got was from Neji, Tenten, Lee, Hinata, Iruka, and the old man... and even then the old man only helped me because I would've been a good ninja..' Naruto thought as he tapped his chin.

'Now I learn that's... not really common practice for the old man to just ask people to become ninja, and on top of that, there were actually people, if only a few, who supported me outside of my friends and Iruka... some thing's not right here, and the nine-tails excuse isn't worth jack-shit anymore....' The blond thought to himself... before simply sighing and tossing his hands up in the air in exasperation.

'Whatever... I'm here now, I'm making good money... the past is the past...' The blond finished up as he cut off anymore thoughts on the matter... of course... that only left him with one thing:

"Boooooooooooooooooored....."

---------- Streets of Konoha --------- About An Hour Later ----------

Shikamaru wasn't the type of guy to get enthralled in one emotion or the other. The lazy Nara thought that getting upset, or obsessed, over something was just plain old 'troublesome' and that just letting a problem roll off your back was the easiest, and most stress-free, manner of dealing with them.

**CLUNK**

"Hey, idiot, stop staring at the ground and get to work!"

Of course, as Shikamaru was hit in the back of the head with yet another empty bottle, thrown by none other than Sasuke Uchiha, he was just about ready to make an exception to his normal 'stress-free strategy'. The irritated Nara, who's left eye was now twitching out of sheer annoyance, looked back at his equally aggravated 'partner', trying his best to restrain himself.

"Stop throwing trash at me..." Shikamaru said in a bit of a gravely tone, as Sasuke just scoffed.

"If you would actually do the work, I wouldn't have to keep throwing trash at you!" Sasuke retorted, as he did every single time Shikamaru would get uppity with him over the improvised projectiles he had been bouncing off of the Nara's head for the past several hours. The Uchiha was irritated, mostly because they were on their... what, seventh hour on the job, when it should've just taken them, two trained ninja, an hour or two, tops, to finish this up, and all because Sasuke had to keep an eye out on the lazier of the two, and make sure he did his work.

Shikamaru, still somewhat... somewhat wishing to avoid a conflict, turned back around and began picking up trash again. Suddenly the cloud-gazer was hit in the back of the head with an apple, that one 'attack' sending Shikamaru over the edge as he glared back at Sasuke.

"Hey, I was actually working!" The shadow manipulator shouted at Sasuke, who only chuckled in response to Shikamaru's exclamation.

"Just checking, dobe." The 'genius' Uchiha fired back, which only further fueled Shikamaru's, at this point, anger. Sasuke turned back around, a somewhat smug smirk still plastered on his lips as he began picking up trash himself. Within seconds the back of Sasuke's head met an old, rotten tomato, the smelly vegetable splattering itself all over the back of its target's head.

Sasuke stood there, unwilling to believe what had just happened to him, until he slowly felt the back of his head. The instance his hand felt the tomato juices, the Uchiha spun on his heal to face Shikamaru, who only wore a small grin as he tossed an equally fetid tomato in his hand.

"Di-Did you just do what I think you did?!" Sasuke stammered out in complete shock, having not expected such a move from the normally lazy Nara.

"Do what? You mean this?" Shikamaru said with a small grin, tossing the other rotten tomato at Sasuke, the vegetable splattering all over the still stunned Uchiha's face. Immediately the Uchiha brushed the remains of the old tomato off of his face, his onyx eyes glaring at the lazy Genin in front of him.

"You're going to regret that..." Sasuke muttered darkly as he quickly reached down for a random piece of garbage on the street, Shikamaru also quickly reaching down for some ammo. It was then that the trash war between Sasuke Uchiha and Shikamaru Nara began. The two Genin quickly began assaulting each other with random pieces of trash, cans, bottles, old food, and various other dumpster-goods were tossed between the Nara and the Uchiha.

After a few minutes, both reached back down to the ground, only to find that there was hardly any trash left on the street, aside from the bits of garbage they had already thrown. Both boys looked down to their respective bags, and before common sense could kick in to stop them, Shikamaru and Sasuke were digging into the bags, and began throwing trash at each other from said bags.

Slowly the street began to fill up with the trash the two Genin had been collecting for the past several hours, their effort and time being thrown away as their petty 'war' reached a new low. They reached into their respective bags, digging around for whatever ammo they could possibly get a hand on. Unfortunately for both, their bags had been completely emptied, the contents now scattered all around.

The two boys paled as they quickly realized that they had just erased all progress made thus far... but then immediately turned to glare at each other.

"This is your fault!" They both shouted at once. "My fault?! No way this is your fault!" They continued to scream at each other at the same time. Just as the shouting match was about to continue, however, both boys felt a sinister presence to their right, one that chilled both, but especially chilled Shikamaru, right to their very soul. Both boys slowly turned their heads towards the dark presence... only to be greeted with a very angry woman, with a very angry scowl on her face as she glared at the two boy.

"H-Hi... m-mom..." Shikamaru stammered a bit, as Sasuke looked between the two Nara.

'This is his mom?!' Sasuke thought to himself, completely stunned by the... well, rather overpowering presence this woman was putting off.

"Shikamaru..." Yoshino Nara said slowly, a small, pounding blood vessel appearing on her forehead as, in the blink of an eye, she grabbed her son up by his ear, lifting the boy up so high that his toes were barely touching the ground.

"OW OW OW OW OW OW OW!" Shikamaru began shouting as his toes barely scratched the ground, his ear just howling with pain as his mother looked him right in the eye.

"Do you see this mess...." Yoshino muttered out as she forced her son's head to look around, Shikamaru only shaking his head real quick to signify a 'yes' answer. "I thought I raised you better..." The 'troublesome woman', as Shikamaru would often refer to her as, said through teeth that were grinding against one and the other. "I want you to pick up every last bit of trash on the ground... with your bare hands!" Yoshino shouted, as he son looked at her with an indignant expression.

"What?! You've got to be- OW OW OW OW OW!" Shikamaru sentence was immediately cut off as Yoshino began bashing him over the head with a tiny, folded fan she had produced from her pocket, Shikamaru being dealt blow after blow... by his own mother! "Okay! Okay! You win!" Shikamaru shouted at Yoshino unceremoniously dropped him, Shikamaru immediately falling to his knees as he began picking up trash with his bare hands.

Sasuke, for his part, stood there with a small grin on his face, laughing at the lazy Nara's misfortune... that is, until, Sasuke found himself also began grabbed by the ear, the Uchiha actually being lifted off of his feet completely as Yoshino glared at him.

"And you! You're equally responsible for this mess! Get there down with my lazy son and help him clean it up!" The bossy Nara ordered Sasuke, as the Uchiha clan member just gave her an insulted look.

"Who are you to be bossing me around, you aren't my mo-OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW!" Sasuke suddenly howled in pain as he received the same fan treatment from Yoshino as Shikamaru had mere moments ago, Shikamaru not bothering to look up and watch the Uchiha be beaten by his mother, lest he receive yet another series of thwacks to the skull. "I give! I give! Uncle! Uncle!" Sasuke screamed out his surrender as he too was dropped rather quickly by Yoshino, the Uchiha scurrying over to Shikamaru's side as he helped his fellow Genin pick up trash.

Both boys kept working for a few minutes, as Yoshino stood over them, watching them, making sure that neither of them were slacking off. Sasuke could feel her eyes boring into the back of his skull, and the feeling of her presence only served to make him... well, a bit frightened.

"Your mom is scary...." Sasuke whispered over to Shikamaru who, under any other circumstances would've been shocked, could only nod in agreement with the Uchiha's statement.

"You're telling me...." The lazy Nara whispered back, as suddenly they both heard Yoshino slam her fan into the palm of her hand.

"What was that?!" She hollered at the two boys, who only picked up the pace of their cleaning.

"Nothing ma'am!"

"Nothing mom!"

Both boys shouted in near unison as they quickly collected the trash they had tossed during their short lived garbage war. In ten minutes the two Genin managed to collect all of the garbage they had tossed at each other from the street, forcing it into their own bags. The two gave Yoshino a somewhat frightened look as she inspected the street, nodding as she did.

"Alright... I'll leave you two to get back to your mission..." She began... before giving both boys a dark look. "However... if I hear that you two are causing trouble again, or aren't doing your work... I'll come back..." She said in a low tone, whispering her veiled threat as she began walking away, leaving both Shikamaru and Sasuke as pale as sheets, frozen in place as they watched her depart. As Yoshino reached the end of the street, she looked back at the boys, her eyes narrowing as she saw that the two boys were still just standing there.

"WELL?!" She screamed back at them, as the two Genin snapped themselves out of their stupor and immediately went about collecting the trash, Yoshino giving a small sigh as she continued walking, a small smile appearing on her face. "Such good boys..." She said with a somewhat dark laugh as took a turn down a different street, Shikamaru and Sasuke still absolutely stricken with fear as they continued to work.

A few minutes later, the two boys slowed down from their post-panic high, now just picking up garbage at a normal pace as the fear of Yoshino returning, while still present, had died down. It was during this time that Sasuke, having calmed down considerably, sighed as he picked up yet another empty bottle, tossing it into his bag as he took a small breath.

"Hey..." The Uchiha began, not turning away from picking up garbage as he tried to address Shikamaru, whom only grunted a bit in acknowledgment. Sasuke took a deep breath through his nose as he shook his head a bit, trying to swallow his pride for just that one moment. "Sorry." The 'genius' apologized rather quickly, not adding anymore words than that as he continued on with trash collection.

The Nara nearly tripped when he heard Sasuke mutter a 'sorry', not entirely believing that Sasuke had actually spoken that word. Never before had he known Sasuke Uchiha to have apologized for some sleight, no matter how great, he had done to someone... this fact along just made Shikamaru smirk, before walking over to Sasuke's side. The Uchiha looked over at the usually lazy Genin, who immediately began gathering up a particularly odorous pile of garbage that had been left on a nearby curb that Sasuke had been working on. Both Genin merely gave each other a small nod as the two began working in unison to get this mission done more quickly.

Not many words were said between Sasuke and Shikamaru for the rest of the mission, some idle comments about their teams, about their shared experience with the wrath of Shikamaru's mom, but not much more than small talk was shared.

After all men didn't need many words to form an understanding.

---------- Aburame Home: Hive Room ---------- A Short While Later ----------

In the darkness of the Aburame Hive Room, Shibi, Sakura and Ino were busy at work, the two girls assisting Shibi with the Aburame duty of assisting the 'Kikaichu sac-separation', a process that, despite the two kunoichi having worked at for the past several hours now, still weren't entirely sure of the purpose of this work.

"Alright Ino, on the count of three... one... two... three!" Sakura said slowly as, on the third count, she and her rival began pulling at different parts of one of the previously described egg-sac clusters, the viscous substance keeping the cluster together quite well, despite the amount of pull the two girls were putting on it. Eventually a small 'schwop' was heard, and Sakura stumbled back a bit as she managed to pull two egg sacs from the cluster, Ino stuck with the remaining eggs as Sakura put the separated sacs to the side.

Shibi, in the meantime, had gathered up yet another entire cluster and, using his Kikaichu bugs, had them begin eating away at the viscous liquid, in order to make the process of breaking up the cluster much easier than the method Sakura and Ino had formed. As the two girls began shaking the liquid from their hands, yet again, they looked over at the older Aburame... their curiosity over the nature of this process finally getting the better of their disgust of the look, feel, and... in one unfortunate mistake, taste of the egg clusters.

"Mr. Aburame... why exactly are we doing this?" Ino asked first, Sakura nodding as kept the egg sacs distanced from each other.

"Yeah... and... what the hell is that?" The pink-haired kunoichi added her own question, pointing over to the cratered rock which was spewing out what the two girls could now identify as eggs, thanks to their extensive experience with the things. Shibi looked over at the two girls, a dull look still on his face... though, in the dark, it'd still be rather hard to see.

"Hmmmm... normally most Genin who end up helping out don't ask questions." The Aburame said, which nearly caused Ino and Sakura to apologize for butting in, had he not immediately continued. "Alright, I'll answer Haruno-san's question first: the 'that' over there is the single most important thing in this entire room: the hive mind." Shibi began explaining, as he slowly began separating the cluster his Kikaichu bugs had been working on.

"At the very center of the hive mind is the Queen Kikaichu. The mind has two purposes: to protect the queen from various things that would do her harm, such as various predatory insects or other animals. The second purpose is to help the queen extend the range of which he pheromones can spread in the general area. With the help of the hive mind the Queen can control Kikaichu from several miles away: something that can prove very important if it finds itself in danger or, in case she's nearing the end of her life cycle, if she needs to find a replacement queen amongst the females." Shibi said in a rather textbook manner.

"Now, Yamanaka-san, you ask why we're doing this, that is, separating the Kikaichu egg-sacs. When my clan first discovered the Kikaichu, they were a breed of insect that were... thinly populated. You see, the sacs in an egg-cluster don't hatch all at once: often times an egg-sac will hatch days before any of the others in the cluster will. It was natural for the Kikaichu insects to then devour the unhatched sacs, provide them their first meal, and keep what would likely be weaker Kikaichu insects from being born..." Shibi continued, his indifferent tone when describing what was basically cannibalism amongst a species disturbing both of the kunoichi somewhat.

"Each sac contains about fifty insects... and each cluster is made up of about eight sacs, give or take one. As you can imagine, a 13% survival rate for births, especially with such a low number of survivors, wouldn't make for a very reliable... or long lasting ally for the clan to use." Shibi continued, grabbing up the last of the egg-clusters, and holding it in his hand for a few seconds. "So, in a way, the original clan members decided to change nature's design: by separating the egg-sacs from the entire cluster, we get a 100% survival rate amongst the Kikaichu, and anywhere between three-hundred fifty, and four-hundred fifty new insects per original cluster... much better, and much more useful." The Aburame clan head said slowly as his own insects began separating the cluster, the two girls just kind of staring at him with a bit of a dumb-founded expression.

"Wow...." Both kunoichi said slowly as Shibi nodded in affirmation.

"Indeed, it is rather incredible." The Aburame said as he took an elongated second to marvel at the egg-sacs, before looking at them. "Alright, they're all separated: let's start moving them to the vault." Shibi said as Sakura and Ino just raised their eyebrows at him, forcing the Shibi to actually point out the door that had been just to the right of the entrance to the hive room. With a quick 'oh', the two girls began picking up as many sacs as they could, making sure they wouldn't touch each other... wouldn't want to spend an extra five minutes trying to pull them apart again.

Shibi, meanwhile, simply took a few into one of his hands, using his free-hand in order to open the rather old wooden door to the new room...

Sakura and Ino had already had one freak out today, but this room very nearly warranted a second. The walls were lined with cages, both occupied and empty... the occupied ones had dozens of Kikaichu insects inside, buzzing around the sealed cages. The two girls merely swallowed a lump in their throat as they followed Shibi inside, proceeding to some of the empty cages. They noticed that these cages had large, j shaped tubes coming out of the cages, as wide around as an adult's arm, closed off on both sides, extending from inside of the cage, to outside of it.

Shibi opened up the outside latch of the tube and dropped an egg-sac into the tube, the group of eggs merely falling down the vertical drop, before rolling right on through the other hatch, rolling towards the center of the empty cage.

"We keep both sides sealed for safety... though, don't panic if you can't close the outside latch, the inside one can only be opened when something pushes it open from the outside." Shibi reassured the two girls, who noticeably calmed upon hearing the news.

"So... how do you get them back out when they... hatch?" Ino asked, towards the end of her question feeling like she should not have asked the question. Shibi, however, didn't seem to notice Ino's rather regretting tone towards the end and showed her... by sticking his arm down the tube of one of the occupied cages. He popped open the inner-latch of said tube, and rather quickly the Kikaichu insects inside the cage flew out and up his sleeve, their buzzing becoming noticeably louder as little bumps could be seen traveling up the sleeve of his coat.

Slowly, however, the buzzing died down, and the bumps on his sleeve slowly disappeared.

"That's how, now get the sacs into the empty cages." Shibi said in a bit of a stern tone... while Sakura and Ino merely nodded, turning a bit green in the gills as they thought about how having dozens of bugs crawl up your arm must've felt like...

"Okay...." They both said in unison as they began getting to work, dropping egg-sacs into the tubes of the empty cages. It was actually much easier and much less time-consuming than the process of separating the clusters, which made the job not just much easier and much more bearable for the two kunoichi.

It took just a half-hour for all the numerous sacs to be deposited into the cages, Shibi sighing a bit as he looked at the two girls.

"Alright, that's it, you're free to go." Shibi said, as Ino and Sakura's eyes shined with glee.

"Really, we can leave?!" Sakura asked as Ino nodded her head along with her former friend's.

"Of course, after all, its feeding time." Shibi said, as he walked past the girls, whom stood there... they wanted to leave, but at the same time they had a morbid curiosity as to what he meant by 'feeding time'. Moments later, Shibi returned... with a few cuddly mice in his hands.

"Awwwwwww!" Ino and Sakura 'awed' in unison as they watched Shibi carry the little mice towards one of the cages... and dump then into it. The two kunoichi's expressions became horrified as they watched the mice tumble through the tube, and into the cage, where all of the Kikaichu bugs immediately latched onto them, weak little squeaks being the last thing heard from the mice.

"Oh, by the way, don't forget to take off the glasses when you... get out of the room." Shibi said, the last part of his sentence somewhat slowed when he noticed that the two girls had immediately bolted off, the sound of the glasses falling onto the ground outside of the hive somewhat audible in the vault.

The two girls were sprinting faster than they had ever done so before, as if they were racing each other to see who could get out of the hellish bug rooms the fastest. As the two practically burst from the house, and stumbled down the stairs, their faces were colored like a lime. As they reached the bottom of the stairs and ran out onto the streets, the two kunoichi took deep breaths to try and calm themselves, pretty well traumatized by the events of that mission.

"Holy hell that was terrible!" Ino shouted as the green coloring of her face began to disappear, Sakura vigorously nodding in agreement.

"I know, I've never seen anything more disgusting in my entire life!" Sakura screamed as she held onto her stomach.

"I swear, when I get my hands on Asuma-sensei I'm gonna..." Ino growled at as she gripped her hands together, putting them in a chocking position..

"Leave some for me..." Sakura said as finally her stomach settled. "So... where do we go from here?" Sakura finally asked, Ino shrugging as she calmed down.

"I don't know, maybe we should wait at the tower for the others to finish up." The blond kunoichi said, Sakura nodding in agreement.

"Sounds good." Her pink-haired counterpart replied as they began walking down the street, casually heading towards the Hokage Tower. "Hey, Ino... correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't we arguing about something on the way here?" Sakura asked Ino, who's face contorted a bit as she tried to think of what they had been talking about.

"Yeah... yeah I think we were..." Ino said, tapping her chin a bit. "Can't remember what we were arguing about though." The Yamanaka quickly added, Sakura nodding as she shrugged.

"Oh well." The pink haired kunoichi ended the conversation right then as the two girls began heading to the Hokage Tower, the rather fitful, frightful time they had in the Aburame hive room seemingly having somewhat healed the divide between the two previous friends though, certainly, there was a long way to go, and whatever peace between them was likely to be temporary at best:

"No way Ino-pig, Sasuke-kun's mine!"

"Yeah right forehead-girl!"

---------- The Restaurant ---------- Later that Evening ----------

Naruto and Chouji were once again seen lounging at their table, finally able to say that their days of work was, nearly, finished. You see, the party had been dieing down for quite some time now: first none of the guests were ordering food, meaning Naruto and Chouji didn't have to serve it. Since they weren't ordering food, there was no dirty dishes to buss, and since there were no dirty dishes to buss, the only thing the two Genin had to do now was help clean up the restaurant... which the two opted to do when all the party guests would leave.

However, once again this left Naruto with nothing to do except for realize how bored out of his skull he was. The blond ninja was looking for something, anything to help take the edge off of his boredom. Talking to Chouji every few minutes helped, but the two, not having really known each other, didn't have much to talk about. The guests had long since ceased being at all interesting, and were now just chatting away about nothing... well, what was nothing to Naruto at least.

Naruto's eyes slowly glided over the restaurant, hoping something would catch his attention...

That's when he saw something he hadn't quite noticed before... something shiny. On the bar of the restaurant, sitting there in a nice little spot all by itself, was a small, gold statue of the Buddha. Naruto's eyes fell upon the small decoration as he examined it closely. It was actually interesting, to Naruto, that something like that, something made of gold, would just be sitting out in the open, where just anyone could grab it.

'Well, it wouldn't be easy to grab it, there'd be all these people around to possibly see you make a move for it... then there'd be getting the thing out of the restaurant without the manager noticing....' Naruto began thinking, his eyes darkening a bit as he stared at the statue. However, Naruto quickly gave himself a mental slap, trying to keep such thoughts out of his head. 'Come on Naruto, you became a ninja so you wouldn't have to steal, what are you thinking....' The former thief thought to himself as he clapped his hands together, getting Chouji's attention.

"Hey, Chouji, we're not doing anything right now, so how about we go ahead and start cleaning up so we can get the hell out of here." Naruto said as he stood up, the Akimichi only staring at him in a quizzical manner.

"But the guests are still here-" Chouji began, only to be pulled up to his feet by Naruto, who just shrugged.

"Hey, we'll handle the big stuff now, and then we'll only have to deal with the small work later." Naruto brushed off Chouji's comment, the Uzumaki really only using the 'cleaning' excuse in order to busy himself, keep himself from thinking about stealing. Chouji, seeing some logic in this, just shrugged.

"Alright, I'll take the chairs and tables, you head back towards the kitchen." Chouji said quickly, Naruto just nodding in agreement as he quickly made his way towards the kitchen.

It took about fifteen minutes for the boys to get the restaurant into ship shape: Chouji putting away tables and chairs that weren't being used, while also cleaning up the various messes made by the party goers. Naruto, in the meantime, emerged from the kitchen, having helped the cooks with the various dishes that needed washed down. Now, he had to do some dusting... and he'd start with the bar. Naruto quickly whipped down the entire bar with an old rag he'd been given, cleaning off almost everything...

Naruto had saved the golden idol for last. As the blond went about cleaning the Buddha statue... he began to notice that the statue's brilliance had actually been somewhat concealed by the dust that had been accumulating on it over the course of the day... it was much shinier than he had thought it had been mere moments ago. Naruto stared at the miniature Buddha for several seconds, his eyes practically glued to the golden statue as he looked around... no... he couldn't just grab it, people would notice...

"Ah-AHCHOO!" Naruto sneezed loudly as everyone in the restaurant looked over at him, the former thief having a bit of an idea mere seconds afterwards. "... Ummm... man this old thing doesn't work." Naruto muttered as he tossed the rag to the side, taking a thinking position as he looked at the 'still dusty' bar. "Hey, I have an idea of how to get this thing nice and clean..." Naruto said as he walked to one end of the bar, everyone in the restaurant still watching him like hawks, as slowly Naruto went through a set of seals that he was quite familiar with at this point.

"Wind Release: Gust." Naruto said as he clapped his hands together, a small torrent of wind emerging from his palms traveling across the bar. The party guests, and Chouji, were actually quite impressed with Naruto's trick, watching as the wind blew off most of the particles from the bar, while barely effecting the objects on the bar.

"You think that was good?" Naruto asked in a rather cheeky manner, going through the seals again. "Just watch, Wind Release: Gust!" Naruto said as he slammed his hands together, putting a lot more chakra into the technique this time. As the jutsu activated, a miniature tornado touched down onto the table, this time earning a small round of applause from the party guests as they watched the tornado move across the flat surface...

Before immediately tossing a plate that had been in its path across the room, shattering it against the wall. Soon following the plate came several pieces of silverware, glass, menus, rags, and other various objects that had been left on the bar, even the golden Buddha.

"Hit the deck!" Naruto shouted as everyone, himself included, ducked down onto the ground, as items of all types began flying over their heads, most of them smashing into the wall. Other objects flew right out of the restaurant... through several windows. When the jutsu reached the end of the table, leaving the tornado no stable ground to keep itself together, the technique immediately deteriorated, a powerful gust of wind blowing all over the restaurant, blowing even more projectiles into the air.

As the urgency in the room passed and no one felt like they would have a fork suddenly fly into their forehead, everyone looked up... and blanked at the minor bit of destruction Naruto had wrought. There was broken glass on the floor, utensils were lodged into the wall, the tables closest to the bar were actually flipped over from the force of the final wind... it was pretty bad. Though, if a ninja were in the restaurant, they'd probably be more amazed with how Naruto had made such a, normally, weak jutsu so... destructive.

Said blond stood up from the ground, sweat dropping as he, suddenly, the owner of the restaurant burst in from the back, having heard the ruckus... his eyes immediately turning towards Naruto, who just sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"Hehehehe.... oops....."

----------- An Hour Later ----------

"Grrr... stupid restaurant... stupid manager... stupid jutsu... it was a mistake damn it!" Naruto grumbled to himself as he picked up the last pieces of glass from the floor, having long since been the last person in the restaurant, besides the owner. After the small disaster Naruto had created, the manager had gone off the wall with rage, looking about ready to bite Naruto's head off. Naruto, though, fearing for his pay, offered to help make up for the damages done to the place...

So, Naruto's punishment? Stay even longer than Chouji and clean up the mess he made all by himself. The Akimichi had been rushed out of the restaurant an hour ago, along with all of the party guests, as the manager wanted to make sure they took nothing in the chaos. Naruto had told Chouji to just head to the tower, tell Kakashi he had gotten in a bit of trouble, and that he'd just see them in the morning, like normal.

When everyone left, Naruto at first thought he could just use his Shadow Clones to make the entire process go by in a snap. However, this option was quickly shutdown, as the restaurant owner had threatened Naruto not to use anymore ninjutsu, lest the man pull the blond's pay, and while Naruto tried to protest how unfair it was, the owner reminded him that it was 'your damn ninjutsu that did the damage in the first place'....

So, here Naruto was, an hour later, with the old guy who owned the restaurant, without Shadow Clones, actually being forced to pick up every last bit of glass that was on the floor.

"You're a hateful old man!" Naruto shouted as he tossed the last of the glass in the garbage, the old restaurant owner just sighing as he waved him off.

"Ah, shut up, you're done now aren't ya?" The restaurant owner said as he pulled out the mission scroll that he and Chouji had brought before, placing his signature at the bottom of the scroll. "There, you worked, you're paid... though, I suggest you don't show your face around here for a while." The older man said as he threw the scroll at Naruto, who just caught it with one hand.

"I'll remember that." The blond said as he shoved the scroll into one of his jacket pockets, turning around to walk off for the night.

"Oh, by the way, I wanted to tell ya something..." The restaurant owner suddenly spoke, stopping Naruto in his tracks. "Its about my golden Buddha Statue... keep an eye out for it will ya? It must've flown out the window when you did your fancy ninjutsu." The owner said slowly as Naruto just nodded, waving back at the old man as he walked off.

"Will do..." Naruto muttered as he began walking away, the restaurant owner heading towards the back of his business to close up shop. Naruto casually made his way to the Hokage Tower to turn in the scroll, collecting his day's worth of mission pay also. With a small smile Naruto made his way back to his hide out, the bag of coins jingling in his hand as he did.

When he finally made it back to his hide out, Naruto dropped the bag of coins to the side and sat right in the middle of the empty lot, looking from side to side as he brought his kunai pouch to the ground in front of him. Slowly, Naruto opened up his kunai pouch, pulling from it... the golden Buddha statue. During the bit of chaos he had caused with the gust, Naruto plucked the little statue as it was soaring through the air.

"And everyone was keeping their heads down to the ground... no way anyone saw me do it..." The renewed thief said... as he took a deep breath. "Though, for a second there... I thought the old guy knew I had it... when he stopped me, I was nervous..." Naruto began, pulling up the sleeve of his jacket, seeing little bumps on his skin. "Gave me goosebumps... and one hell of a rush..." The blond said with a large smirk, looking back at the little statue.

"I think you just helped me find the perfect cure for my boredom..." The Street Fox said as he shoved the statue back into his kunai pouch.

"Heh, you know, who knew stealing could be so much fun..."

Song Omake (Watch JibJab's 'He's Barack Obama' to get the general tune)  
(I just really wanted to write this while Danzo would still be relevant)

_Hello- Singing_

Konoha... or, the crater that was once Konoha, stood out in the open... destroyed and ruined. The dark clouds of the attack hanging over it like a thick smog...

_When Darkness had Descended  
__all across... the land.  
__A lone voice in the distance  
__uttered yes, I can!_

As the clouds began to part, the shadows of one particular man standing upon what used to be the Hokage mountain overshadowed the crater.

_He hid in shadows,  
__clever man  
__He was real good as a  
__villaaaa-iinnnn_

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the top of the mountain, and the lone figure jumped down from the mountain and landed in the middle of the crater... dressed in a skin-tight red and white outfit, with a belt that had an ANBU mask for a buckle, and the Hokage Hat on.

_HE'S THE HOKAGE DANZO  
__HE'S COME TO SAVE THE DAY!_

_He used his secret powers  
__to kill a clan.  
__Its true the Uchiha  
__were not, his fans!_

As Danzo stood in a great pose, Kisame suddenly jumped from the top of the crater to try and attack Danzo, who merely delivered one solid punch to Kisame's gut, killing him instantly!

_Stop Akatsuki's  
__Constant attacks!  
__Madara'd better  
watch his back!_

_HE'S THE HOKAGE DANZO  
__HE'S COME TO SAVE THE DAY!_

Suddenly, with his super-sensitive hearing, Danzo heard major brooding off in the distance and, spinning the Hokage hat like a helicopter propeller, he began flying into the air, heading towards the source of that sound.

_He'll use his Kage powers  
__to kick, some ass!_

Danzo immediately landed in the middle of team Hawk, the source of brooding being Sasuke whom Danzo immediately Kung-Fu chopped in the soul before flying off back towards Konoha.

_Then Kung-Fu chop Uchiha boy  
__HI-YA! So crass!_

Danzo immediately landed amongst Samui's team, and proceeded to whip them into shape.

_Our strength in the world he'll mend  
__then make us and Cloud friends!_

_HE'S THE HOKAGE DANZO  
__HE'S COME TO SAVE THE DAY!_

Suddenly, his Hokage Hat began ringing, and a small wire came down from the top of it... the voice on the other end of the line was the Raikage.

"Hokage-sama, we have a problem..."

Danzo merely hung up the line, and stared out towards Cloud.

"Hawk!"

Immediately twin jet-packs formed from Danzo's back, blasting him off towards the Cloud village. He immediately landed in the midst of a huge fight between Hawk and the Cloud-nin. Danzo punched, kicked, and brawled all the members of cloud into submission, before tossing Sasuke into a pit filled with Sand-Worms!

_He'll save the day, make amends  
__To the grave evil he will send  
__Keep Sasuke from his own goals  
__Rake his ass across the coals!_

Danzo continued with his amazing feats by jumping several miles away, landing onto Kakashi Hatake, before jumping away again, pulling a tiny little kitten from a tree top just above him.

_He can leap a building  
__then land unto thee!  
__Save a kitten  
__from a tree!_

Danzo immediately began sprinting to the Kage summit, arriving there before any of the other Kage.

_Go to Iron,  
__make his case!_

Just as he made it Naruto tried to interrupt the meeting with his 'circle of hate' nonsense... and received a huge punch in the face.

_Punch Naruto  
__IN THE FACE!_

_Stop a demon,  
wrestle 'Bee  
__Then kill them  
for you and me!_

_CUZ YOU'RE THE HOKAGE DANZO  
__YOU'VE COME TO SAVE THE DAY  
__SO JUST SNAP YOUR FINGERS  
__AND MAKE THIS MANGA LESS GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!_

Omake 1

(What's this? A non-Naruto Omake... AND A LAST AIRBENDER OMAKE?!  
Who would've guessed?)

At the bottom of Lake Logai, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Jet were wandering the vast halls of the prison, checking each cell for any sign of Appa.

"Let's check this one, I got a good feeling about it!" Aang said as he rushed over to said cell door, Katara eying the door suspiciously.

"I don't know Aang... it doesn't look like it'd be big enough to get Appa in..." She said as Aang just waved her off.

"Still, I'm going to try..." Aang said stubbornly as he pulled the door open, and looked inside... only to be horrified at what he found.

"Oh no! This isn't where Long Feng hid Appa! This is where Long Feng locked up the Animaniacs!" Aang exclaimed as, suddenly, three black and white blurs vaulted from the cell, bouncing around the empty hallway like crazy as the three being tasted freedom for the first time in years.

Suddenly, they stopped right in front of the Gaang. They all had dog-like appearances, and were black and white. They also varied size, and dress. The tallest one, a boy, wore tan-slacks with a black and yellow belt, the middle one, also a boy, wore a blue turtle-neck and a red baseball cap, and the shortest, a girl, wore a pink skirt and a flower in her hair.

"Hellooooo! We're the Warner Brothers!" The two boys said in unison, the girl quickly chiming in right afterwards.

"And the Warner Sister!" She said in a manner which made Katara 'ah' at her appearance.

"I'm Yakko!" The tallest said, shaking Aang's hand before whispering back to his brother and sister. "Boy, baldness sure is hitting earlier and earlier, ain't it?" He commented, causing Aang to just blush a bit as he tried to explain, before being interrupted by the blue-turtlenecked 'dog'.

"I'm Wakko!" Wakko said, before quickly belching in Sokka's and Jet's face, promptly knocking out both boys.

"And I'm Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bobesca the Third, but you can call me Dot." She said, before quickly getting up in Katara's and Toph's face. "But call me Dottie and you die." She said before rejoining her brothers, Katara a little shocked by the Dot's statement, while Toph just smirked, liking Dot's guts.

"Stop right there Warner Brothers... and Sister!" Long Feng shouted from down the hall, a series of Dai Lee Agents supporting him. "Guards, restrain the Animaniacs!" Long Feng shouted as Yakko just laughed a bit.

"You going to get the whips out too?" Yakko commented idly as Long Feng just stammered for a moment, before growling.

"Don't just stand there, I said move!" Long Feng roared as his Dai Lee began running towards the Animaniacs... Wakko just getting in front of his siblings. In the next second, Wakko released a belch so powerful that the cave walls shook, the mere scent of the gas being enough to knock every single Dai Lee agent unconscious.

"Well.... should've seen that coming..." Long Feng muttered as, suddenly, the Animaniacs barged right past the leader of the Dai Lee, heading towards the exit, and towards Ba Sing Se.

Ba Sing Se

The Warner Brothers (and Warner Sister) ran rampant through the streets of Ba Sing Se, causing mass chaos as the citizens of the city didn't know what to do now that the Animaniacs had returned. The Animaniacs had made it to the lower districts, causing mass chaos along the streets when the group of three ran into Jin... and immediately Yakko's and Wakko's tongues rolled out of their heads, which changed to a more wolf-like shape.

"Helloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Nurse!" The two boys exclaimed as Jin merely looked at them with a mix of fear and confusion, Dot merely standing to the side, shaking her head.

"Boys: go fig." She said... before spotting someone moving through the crowds, heading back towards Lake Logai. Dot, without warning, jumped the young man, revealed to be Zuko. "Hey there..." Dot said in a somewhat seductive manner, giving Zuko a big wet kiss on the cheek as the Fire Nation Prince, shocked from the experience, ran off, Dot just sighing a bit.

"I would marry that man..." She said slowly as, suddenly, she was scooped up into a net, along with her brothers, by a particularly chubby man wearing an ill-fitting Dai Lee uniform.

"Drrr I got 'em, I got 'em Long Feng sir!" Ralph said as he saluted the oncoming leader of the Dai Lee, who just shook his head.

".. Just take them to Dr. Scratchansniff..." Long Feng ordered wearily as Ralph saluted him once again, running off to said Doctor's office...

Doctor Scratchansniff's Office

We find the doctor's office in complete disarray, the books scattered, tables flipped, and the dear doctor himself laying flat on the ground in a fetal position, muttering 'don't know what to say, the monkeys won't do', while a giant hole in the wall in the shape of the Warner Brothers (and Warner Sister) showed clearly that the Animaniacs had escaped... who knows what trouble they would cause in Ba Sing Se...

Author's Notes (Original Jutsu)

Wind Release: Gust

D-Rank, Offensive, Short Range (0-5m)

Users: Almost all Wind Jutsu Users, Naruto Uzumaki, Kakashi Hatake

Hand Seals: Ram, Monkey, Rat, Dragon

Description- By slamming his hands together, the user can force a small whirlwind from the wind between their hands and towards the direction of the users choice.

R&R


	20. Chapter 20

Naruto Alone

Hey there folks, Arganaut with the next chapter of Naruto Alone heading your way. Now then, a couple people have been asking me when the 'filler' arc was going to be over and they could get back to the series plot of the story. In a sense this chapter is kind of the end of the 'fun' material as we get back into plot construction, so I would recommend people read this chapter so that in the upcoming plot line you aren't lost.

Also, as a bit of a side-note, I've opened up a forum to help keep in contact with you lot, so do stop by sometime.

Anyway, that's all I have to say for now so let's get to responding to the reviews:

Doctor Yami- You got that right.

firelordeg- Thanks, but mind telling me what a.s.a.l.a. means?

KaliAnn- Thanks for the review, and welcome, I believe this is the first time I've heard from you. I'm glad you liked the chapter, and its good to hear that you enjoyed the part with the Aburame: I'm trying to give each individual clan their own spin, and the Aburame, in my view, don't really get that deep of a look into how their clan functions or just how they work, with the exception of 'Team 8'. So, I just thought I'd take a shot at them. As for Naruto stealing, that's kind of the point, its going to set up a bit of a sub-plot soon enough.

MissNaye- Oh wow, Captain Planet, been a looooong time since I've seen that show.

**VFSnake-** I was actually going for a bit more of a negative tone with the theft of the statue, though I could see where there could be a breakdown in communication.

SpeeDemon- Took me a while to think of it, though I think the finished result was worth it.

NaylorFan90- Eh, I've been getting that quite a bit, though I tend to mostly think its because people are anxious to see how I'll handle Wave (which, by the way, I believe will be quite good).

**Dragon Man 180-** Interesting idea. However, on the note of Naruto's theft, a blackout would've been a tad bit too obvious, whereas by creating the mess it looks like it was a genuine accident that tossed the statue out somewhere.

**  
Paintball-Gamer- **Thanks man, good to know you enjoyed the chapter. Your assessment on the parts of the Genin are actually quite spot on, and I'd say Naruto would've been equally pleased had the jutsu messed up and turned into a giant gust anyway (still would've gotten the statue).

Gravity The Wizard- Oh, then this is your chapter....

**FictionReader98-** Thanks, and I have to say I must admit your analysis of the chapter is quite informative, and quite nice to hear. I've already discussed with you a lot of the ideas I've had, so I know you'll enjoy what I have plotted out.

TharzZzDunN- Welcome new reviewer, glad to have your opinions out for me to read. Believe me, nothing makes me more upbeat than to see detailed reviews. Anyway, onto your specific points: yeah, I'm not meteorologist, so perhaps skipping explaining how snow got there would be a good idea. As for the comedy, I find that in a story its alright to start it off with some pretty heavy comedy, but as time goes on its better to slowly cut back on the comedy (keep it, but don't force it) and introduce more plot-related elements and dramatics. As for responding to people's reviews, heck, I only do it cause I enjoy talking with my reviewers. Hope to hear more from you again.

Mark Solo- Well, stay tuned and you'll see how our mains (and a lot of the side-cast) turns out.

soundless steps- Good to see your review, was wondering where you were. Welcome back.

Alright, I think that's enough review responding for now: time to get to the next exciting chapter of Naruto: Alone!

Chapter 20: Joint Training, Team 8 Arrives!

---------- Two Weeks Later ----------

Two weeks time has past since we've last seen Team 7, three weeks of training, sparring, and excruciatingly tiring exercises. Kakashi Hatake had been putting his new team through quite the ringer, training them, for now, in their weakest areas, alongside basic training. Though the fruits of these labors were not immediately apparent, they began to ripen over time. Naruto was slowly beginning to gain the upper-hand over the seal making process, able to more aptly control the Gust Jutsu... though, the accursed kunai still refused to fall from the tree.

The young blond, however, was not getting any better when it came to his new 'habit': the young Uzumaki's 'secret thefts' were slowly beginning to become more and more risqué, and began involving more and more difficult targets. Still, Naruto wasn't exactly worried about being captured, after all, after two weeks of just dropping by different target's homes, stealing an item of value, and then immediately leaving, and with no one having a clue who did it, the young Uzumaki was becoming pretty confident in his skills.

Sakura was also beginning to show progress in her training, it was small progress, but progress nonetheless. Kakashi himself would admit that the hardest part of training with chakra was increasing your reservoir of chakra, in fact the copy-nin often compared the process to trying to fill a well while only dumping in a cup of water at a time. Still, he pushed the pink-haired kunoichi with increasing amounts of weight each time she showed progress, which made said kunoichi all the more pissed off.

Still, the constant training was forcibly instilling into Sakura something that had been absent before in her Academy years: focus. After all, if she didn't put her full focus onto the training, she very well could fall from her inverted position (and, frankly, has on quite a few noted occasions). Sakura's focus had improved, however, it was still farther from where the copy-nin would've liked to have seen in, mostly thanks to the third member of the team.

"Damn it!" A member that should, perhaps, be given a more personal look at, if only for a while.

--------- The Uchiha Clan Compound ----- 3:00 A.M. ----------

The shout of frustration that had so clearly pierced the night air had originated from the Uchiha Clan Compound. The only living inhabitant of the vast compound that had once belonged to one of Konoha's most illustrious clans, Sasuke Uchiha, was currently taking a few deep breaths in one of the closed training areas, his knuckles white as he clenched his fists hard.

Sasuke's progress with Kakashi's training was rather difficult to measure, as the Uchiha had not solely been training with his sensei. Now, this fact alone wasn't much of a shock, as the Uchiha had been training on his own before having to meet his team since the very first day of the team's creation, a habit that had existed since Sasuke took up his rather unsavory goal in life. What was a shock was the sheer amount of volume of training Sasuke had been taking upon himself. It was still two hours before he had to meet his team, and yet he was already tired from training since his training began an hour earlier.

Overall, much of what Kakashi had been aiming for in Sasuke was going swimmingly: the boy had practically mastered the water-walking exercise, and Kakashi was already going to be ready to begin doing with Sasuke what he had been doing with Naruto: help the boy with his chakra element in specific. What the scarecrow did not know was that Sasuke had already begun working with his chakra elements, and had been doing so for four hours every morning for the past two weeks.

Sasuke's reasoning for having so fervently expanded his private training sessions was simple: the Lightning Jutsu he had seen Kakashi use in his chakra demonstration several weeks ago. That small demonstration, that small force of lightning in Kakashi's hand had struck Sasuke quite powerfully, especially when he found out that, with what Sasuke had figured to be fate, that he had lightning specialized chakra. The amount of chakra in that small space was great, and that was just with recycled chakra... and the Uchiha could only imagine how useful that jutsu could be to him. So, alongside training his chakra elements, Sasuke had torn into the Konoha Ninja Library, gathering scrolls on various seals and chakra manipulation.

When Kakashi had demonstrated the technique, Sasuke could make out that the Jounin's hands had moved through three seals... unfortunately, Sasuke couldn't make out exactly which three seals the Jounin had used. So, the Uchiha had been studying up on his basic seals, trying to take a somewhat educated guess at which seals had been used. It had been five nights when the black-haired Genin had begin throwing a few seals together... and had thus far only succeeded in either burning his palms, or outright wasting his chakra.

Still, the black-haired Genin wouldn't have been so persistent if he didn't have any progress to show for his efforts. Thus far he had slowly narrowed down the number of seals to the most possible three thanks to details from old seal scrolls... and hours upon hours of trial and error. Plus, thanks to Kakashi's training, added with his own, Sasuke was getting a good feel for molding his chakra in the way the scrolls described as appropriate for lightning jutsu,

So, catching his breath, Sasuke merely cracked his neck as he brought his hands together. The seals he had narrowed the jutsu down to were the monkey, hare and ox seals. The hare seal was somewhat obvious, as it was common for all kinds of lightning jutsu. The ox seal was what probably gave the jutsu, despite its fine point, so much sheer power, while the monkey seal would've helped hold all that raw power together.

"Alright... time to try again." The Uchiha muttered under his breath as he brought his hands together for the next seal combination he had tacked down since having narrowed the combination down to those three seals. He'd gone through a couple possible ones already (earning him his rather tired appearance), and he felt he was getting close. "Hare, Monkey, Ox." Sasuke muttered as he flashed his hands into those seals, focusing his chakra slowly through each one.

Sasuke then turned his right hand down and slapped his left hand over his wrist, focusing his chakra into the palm of his hand. Sasuke strained for several seconds as he concentrated the chakra into a fine point on his palm, and slowly smirked as he began to feel a warm, but not scalding, feeling developing in his right hand. The black haired Genin stood there for several seconds, waiting for sparks and whistles to begin sounding from the jutsu. When they didn't, Sasuke merely blinked in confusion as he turned his right palm upwards.

What was in his right hand, strangely enough, wasn't a ball of sparks and lightning, but rather an orb, about the size of an orange, sitting quietly in his hand. In the center of the orb sparks could be seen, but they never escaped outside of the radius of the sphere. At first, the Uchiha merely stared at the small ball of sparks in the palm of his hand with interest. After the initial moments of shock, the Uchiha's interest wore thin as he scoffed.

"Another failed attempt... at least this one means I'm getting a little closer." Sasuke said as he pulled chakra out from his right hand, only to find the orb still remaining precariously placed in his palm. The Genin raised his eyebrow for a moment, before quickly tossing the orb over his shoulder. "Whatever, back to wo-"

Sasuke's boredom would immediately be cut as he would suddenly find himself face-first on the ground, having been propelled there by an explosive force that occurred right behind him. The Uchiha felt like his entire back had been stung and singed, the force of the blast having momentarily knocked the young boy senseless. After a few moments, Sasuke slowly forced himself back to his feat, wincing as his back reacted quite painfully to the movement.

"What the hell was that?" Sasuke asked pointedly as he turned to look at the area where he formerly stood. The remaining Uchiha in Konoha was in for quite the surprise when he found, behind where he stood, a large scorched piece of earth, with sparks of electricity still momentarily appearing. Sasuke, curious, slowly remade the seals he had just done, and forced a much lesser amount of chakra into his right hand that last time. Slowly the spark orb formed into his hand, though quite smaller this time. Cautiously, the Uchiha threw it several feet out, the small spark orb first hitting the ground, momentarily rebounding slightly into the air. In a flash, the inner-sparks of the orb burst through the outer layer, producing a small storm of sparks and energy that charred part of the earth beneath it, and left quite of charge in the atmosphere.

Sasuke's eyes stared, boring into the very air that the small orb had, basically, blown up in. Feeling the burns and stings on his back, and then seeing the effects first-hand... made Sasuke smirk quite widely.

"Let's give this a few tries and see where we go-" Sasuke began, before quite painfully wincing. "-tomorrow..." The boy said as he slowly stood up and began moving through the compound back to where he slept, his focus diverted from the jutsu he had been trying to copy, to the one he had just accidentally discovered.

---------- Team 7 Meeting Bridge ----- A Week Later ----------

"Morning...." The tired greeting was once again shared by the three sleepy members of Konoha's Team 7, as slowly they all stood in their respective spots on the bridge, the routine having long since become quite mechanical for them. Naruto would walk over to the railing and lift himself up onto it, sitting on the wooden support while kicking his legs in the air for some form of movement. Sasuke and Sakura would stand just opposite of his, Sasuke's arms crossed and his head lowered as he leaned up against the bridge's rails, whilst Sakura would stand somewhat slumped over, the kunoichi still finding waking up that early in the morning just to wait for their silver-haired to arrive hours later to be quite dull and, on a few occasions, sleep inducing.

This routine wasn't often interrupted, and often times it was only when one of the two boys would arrive with some kind of injury or another that the idle chit-chat and the silence would be replaced with rather worried looks from Sakura, and one of the boys jabbing the injured one over said injury. One such event occurred last week when Sasuke arrived at the bridge, wincing in pain from (unbeknownst to either Sakura or Naruto) his rather sparky discovery.

Of course, Sasuke wouldn't admit to either Naruto or Sakura that he was injure, as the placement and the type of wound he suffered would only warrant endless questions from Sakura, and blaring laughs from Naruto. The Uchiha could've heard in the back of his mind Naruto endlessly laughing about how Sasuke ended up hitting himself in the back with a Fire Jutsu, while Sakura would question how such an event would be possible.

Even when he couldn't convince them he wasn't hurt, he did get them to back down about the rest of the injury, though a rather close call occurred when Naruto, in a joking manner, slapped Sasuke on the back, nearly causing Sasuke to fall over after seizing up from the pain. Of course, over the course of the week, the Uchiha would get nominal revenge on Naruto, as the blond thief would from time to time come to the bridge either a bit exhausted or looking like a bit of a mess.

Of course, this was primarily because the renewed thief was beginning to spend longer and longer nights out in the streets of Konoha, trying to size up, and then rob, houses for his new found adrenaline rush. Even the energetic blond was beginning to find the late nights were draining on him a bit. Though, at this point it was still nothing that couldn't be fixed up by resting while waiting for Kakashi to show, so Naruto still wasn't overly concerned.

Still, it did earn him some taunts from the Uchiha, whom would often mention that perhaps Kakashi's training had become a bit too much for him. Of course, there was very little bite in the taunts between the two, so Sakura wouldn't step in with her... explosive rage to put either of the two of them back in their places. After exchanging the greeting, the team merely sat back and began waiting for Kakashi to show up, as they had done every morning practically since the team was formed.

It was only a few hours later when, almost right on his 'late' schedule, a large plume of smoke made its appearance at the end of the bridge, Kakashi Hatake slowly appearing amidst the smoke, waving at his students with a curved eye. "Yo." The silver-haired Jounin greeted in his normal light tone, his team merely waving back at the man. The scarecrow Jounin walked right on up to his team, the Jounin merely waving his team to follow him, which they did, as they did every morning. After a few minutes of walking, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura noticed they weren't heading to the Team 7 grounds, and before their minds could even form the question, Kakashi answered their curiosity.

"I forgot to mention at the bridge, we won't be training at the normal grounds today: I've got a different sort of training lined up for us today." Kakashi said, a smirk forming under his mask. Immediately, all three students sweat dropped, stuck between being relieved that they weren't going to have to go through the normal cabal of strenuous but repetitive training exercises and being a little worried about just how much worse this new exercise could end up being.

"Why didn't you mention this earlier?" Sakura asked cautiously, Kakashi merely shrugged as he continued walking.

"Because then it wouldn't be a surprise." Kakashi said in a light-tone, causing his pupils to sweat drop. Had it not been for more recent surprises, like with the training and the joint-missions, they'd be suspicious that this 'surprise' would be like his first with their first string of D-Rank missions... a series of chores. It took several minutes for Team 7 to arrive at Kakashi's 'surprise' destination, and indeed what they had found was quite the shock.

Before them stood three persons, two of which were their own age, and one of which looked to be about Kakashi's age. The older woman had dark black hair and piercing red eyes, wearing a series of bandages and wrap around her body, over top of some sort of red long-vest: a headband tied around her forehead. The two others were immediately recognizable to Team 7 as old members of their class, Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuga, whom looked nearly exactly the way they did back at the Academy, Shino's long coat hiding most of his face with those dark black glasses covering his eyes, and Hinata wearing her large coat.

The three waiting members of Team 8 looked over at Team 7, Shino immediately bringing his hand up to his face to rub the bridge of his nose, already foreseeing that today was to be 'one of those days', while Hinata merely blushed upon seeing Naruto for the first time since the teams were divided at the Academy, 'Naruto-kun' being whispered under her breath in shock. The older woman, Kurenai, sighed as she shook her head.

"You're late Kakashi, very very late..." Kurenai scolded her fellow Jounin, whom merely returned with a small chuckle.

"Well, at least I'm not the latest, it would appear that one member of your team is missi-" Kakashi was suddenly interrupted when a quick figure rushed out from the bushes to pounce upon Naruto, tackling him to the ground while sitting quite prominently on the blond's back.

"Hey there 'Street Fox', haven't seen you around for a while." The loud, boisterous voice of Kiba Inuzuka said, a smirk plastered on his face as, from the same bushes, a small white dog, Akamaru, emerged and ran over to Naruto, taking a seat upon the blond's head and while barking in a high-pitched, happy tone. While Sakura and Sasuke chuckled lightly at seeing their teammate so suddenly ambushed, Naruto was not at all pleased.

"Dammit dog-breath, get the hell off of me!" The Street Fox roared back at his old antagonist, who merely stuck a tongue out at the blond. Kurenai and Kakashi sweat dropped at the scene, the woman Jounin shaking her head.

"Kiba was 'late' because I sent him out to try and hurry you along... I shouldn't be surprised that he decided to fool around instead." The Team 8 Jounin said with a sigh. "Kiba, get off of him..." She said in an exasperated tone, the Inuzuka, somewhat grumpily, following her order, the boy and Akamaru jumping off of Naruto, who merely raised himself back up from the ground slowly. The blond glared over at his sensei, which immediately got to explaining before his student would make a scene.

"If you're going to ask why we're here, then allow me to explain." Kakashi said, jabbing his thumb over towards Team 8. "Kurenai and I decided to sign up you all for joint-team exercises today. Much like the joint-team missions with Team 10 a while back, we'll be working together for training today, but we'll be separating for missions later after this." Kakashi said, this explanation quickly diffusing Naruto, whom merely crossed his arms and glared over at Kiba,

"And yes, you have to." Kakashi quickly added as a follow up to his statement, Naruto nearly cursing aloud. "Now then, while Kurenai and I discuss your training for today, how about you six get reacquainted." Kakashi said as more of a command than a question, Kurenai nodding in affirmation as the six Genin merely nodded, some in a bit of an exasperated manner. The two Jounin left their students alone, while they began discussing the training for the day. The Genin were a bit slow to join up together, mostly because Naruto was warily eying Shino and Kiba (and vice-versa), Sakura was a bit slow and watching to see if Kiba and Naruto would go back at it, Hinata was a bit shy in starting a conversation, and Sasuke was just flat out uninterested at the time.

Finally, Naruto just stuck his tongue out at the bug and dog boys and walked over towards the young Hyuga, a small grin on his face.

"Yo Hinata, haven't seen you for a long time!" Naruto eagerly greeted Hinata, the young girl blushing and nodding as she looked to the side.

"Y-yeah, not since the Academy and the c-club." The shy girl stammered slowly, glancing up to look at her crush more closely, before looking back down. "Y-you got some new clothes..." Hinata began, inwardly sweat dropping at the rather odd, for her, topic of conversation. Naruto, however, dove right into it.

"Thanks for noticing, bought them with my first missions' pay." Naruto said, immediately drawing a somewhat surprised look from the heiress, which only caused Naruto's smirk to grow into a grin, knowing what a former member of the Street Fox Fan Club would be thinking. "Yep, didn't steal these for once!" Naruto said, somewhat boastfully showing off his purchased items, Hinata smiling somewhat.

"That's good N-Naruto-kun..." The blushing kunoichi said sincerely, unknowingly setting of a firestorm of words as she was now (delightedly) obligated to listen to Naruto's tales of what had been going on for the past few weeks, the other four Genin merely sweat dropping as they finally began talking themselves.

"Yo broody, pinky, haven't seen you two for a while." Kiba said with a large grin, Sakura and Sasuke merely sweat dropping at their old nicknames.

"Oh Kiba... I so missed you...." Sakura commented, her sarcasm hardly being hidden as Kiba merely chuckled, Sasuke merely rolling his eyes as he walked over more closely to Shino, the only person gathered here who was probably as non-talkative as he was.

"You have to put up with this a lot?" The Uchiha asked the bug-controlling, who merely nodded.

"As much as I hate to say so, yes... I do..." Shino replied, the two stoic Genin standing there for a few moments, watching as the other two members of their respective teams spoke with each other. "I have to say, out of the two of us it would appear you ended up with the most vocal of our previous classmates." Shino said as Kiba and Sakura's conversation devolved into a few loud taunts from Kiba being aimed to Sakura whom was only growing more and more frustrated, whilst Naruto continued to loudly proclaim the grand progress he had been making in the weeks training to Hinata, who merely stood back and listened to her crush.

"Maybe." The Uchiha said with a shrug, before the two's eyes immediately darted over to watch as Sakura slugged Kiba, the dog-boy either having said something rude, or more likely, lewd. "They have their moments." Sasuke admitted, Shino only slightly raising one of his eyebrows while remaining silent. Naruto and Hinata had seen the punch themselves, Hinata looking worriedly at her teammate as Naruto just blinked.

"Huh, that was weird." The Uzumaki commented idly before turning back to his old fan club member. "So anyway, then Chouji and I were cleaning up, and to clear off the counter I decided to learn this new jutsu I've been practicing under Kakashi-sensei!" The excited blond continued telling his story, the purple eyed kunoichi merely nodding along with his story.

"Th-that's amazing Naruto-kun, i-it sounds like your sensei's been doing a g-good job." Hinata said whilst pressing her fingers together, Naruto nodding vigorously. Said sensei was standing beside his Team 8 counterpart, looking over their students.

"I don't know Kakashi... considering the rather aggressive nature of a few of our students this could end up not working out so well." Kurenai said worriedly as she saw Sakura stood over Kiba, laughing at the dog boy. Kakashi looked at them and shrugged, pulling out some strips of paper and his kunai pouch.

"They're bound to be forced to work together out in the field if they advance beyond Genin, might as well prepare them for it now rather than later." The silver-haired Jounin said in a somewhat bored manner as he approached the Genin. "Alright kids, time to get to work." Kakashi called out as the two teams of Genin gathered around the two Jounin, Kiba being a bit slower to the uptake thanks to the unexpected punch from Sakura.

"Today's training is going to be a teamwork exercise." Kurenai began the explanation, which immediately caused all three members of Team 7 to pale dramatically. Kurenai raised her eyebrow and looked over at Kakashi with a somewhat suspicious look, the Jounin merely shrugging as Kurenai sighed. "Right, well, the exercise is going to be a three-on-three fight between two teams, the first team to knock unconscious the other three members of the opposite team wins." Kurenai explained simply enough, Team 7 immediately lighting up as they heard this, while Team 8, specifically Hinata, seemed a bit downtrodden.

"Of course, it wouldn't be much of an exercise if we kept you all in teams you were comfortable with." Kakashi immediately chimed in Team 7 snapping their necks towards their sensei, which merely raised the piece of paper and kunai pouch, the names of the six Genin on the pieces of paper. "I'll be putting all of your names in my pouch, and then I'll pick randomly from my pouch three names. Those three names will be on one team, while the remainder will be on the opposing team." The cycloptic Jounin said as his visible eye curved, the the collective jaws of the two teams gaping somewhat.

"What the hell gives?" Kiba immediately responded, the dog boy quickly followed up by the equally loud shout of Naruto.

"Seriously, why do we have to be all mixed up?" Naruto roared, unaware that Hinata was beginning to blush quite deeply at the aspect of, even if temporarily, being teamed up with Naruto for an exercise.

"Well, I suppose the first reason would be to get rid of that attitude." Kakashi began, before continuing. "While the team set-ups will be your most common combination throughout your Shinobi career, you'll also end up being teamed up with other ninja you might not even know for various missions that require skills you might not be sure they have." Kakashi said, Kurenai quickly following up on Kakashi's statement.

"Indeed, you're going to need to be able to work well together with ninja outside of your own teams, so Kakashi and I constructed this exercise in order to help with that." The Genjutsu-specialist explained, Naruto and Kiba going back to just grumbling, having been successfully silenced by the explanation. "So, Kakashi, if you would?"

"Way ahead of you Kurenai." The lazy Jounin said as he put all six pieces of paper into the pouch, slightly closing up the container as he shook it around a bit. After a minute or so of shaking, Kakashi unzipped the pouch, and reached in for the little slips. "Alright.... first person for Team 1 is...." Kakashi said as he slowly pulled out the slip, trying to build tension, when in reality all he was doing was annoying most of the Genin.

"Sasuke." Sasuke merely nodded after hearing the announcement, walking away from the rest of the group to help create a separation for the teams. Kakashi just shrugged as he reached in and pulled out another name. "Sakura." Kakashi said, immediately sweat dropping as Sakura gave a quick, somewhat relieved nod as she ran over to join Sasuke, the Jounin shaking his head as he reached in again. "Here's hoping I don't accidentally pull out your name Naruto..." Kakashi said with a small chuckle, dramatically drawing the last slip of paper from the pouch, slowly bringing it over to his visible eye to read as he left the Genin sweating bullets.

"Hinata." The Jounin read casually as the reactions from the remaining four Genin were immediate.

"WHAT!?!?!?" Naruto and Kiba screamed in complete shock, Shino's eyebrows raised far above the rim of his glasses, whilst Hinata merely walked over with her temporary team, casting sorry glances back to the other three Genin as she did.

"You've got to be kidding me! You can't expect me to work with street-boy here!" Kiba roared as Naruto merely glared at the dog user.

"Hey, you think you're upset?! Because of the stupid name-drawing I have to stick around you! I'm probably going to smell like wet dog and kibbles by the time this is all over!" Naruto shouted at Kiba, who merely turned to look Naruto dead in the eye.

"And what's wrong with smelling like wet dog and kibbles?!" The dog-master asked in an indignant matter, Akamaru growling at Naruto.

"It smells worse than shit, that's what's wrong with it!" Naruto exclaimed as he and Kiba nearly went for each other's throats, Kurenai and Kakashi beginning to regret having done this randomly, seeing the chaos they had just unleashed.

"Naruto, Kiba, stop this now!" Kurenai said firmly and loudly, Naruto and Kiba immediately shutting up at her order.

"Much better." Kakashi quickly followed up as he clapped his hands together. "Alright, teams, huddle up and try to come up with sort of strategy to use against the other team. You have five minutes to talk amongst yourselves." The cycloptic Jounin explained as he waved the teams off in different directions, Sasuke's group heading off a few yards away, Naruto's going doing much the same: the main difference being that there was much more distance between Naruto's group than there was with the opposite.

"This is probably the most hopeless situation I've seen in a long time." Kurenai said with a shake of her head, Kakashi merely glancing at her.

"We'll see Kurenai." Kakashi said as his fellow Jounin just raised her eyebrow.

"Really, you think they honestly have a chance." She said, Kakashi merely plucking his book from his kunai pouch.

"You're putting words in my mouth Kurenai. I only said that we'll see, I didn't say they'd have a chance." The silver-haired pervert said as he lightly laughed at the contents of his book, Kurenai twitching a bit as she shook her head. Meanwhile the two teams discussed strategy, one doing so better than the other.

"Alright, just follow my orders and we'll do fine." Kiba said with a bit of a snarl, Akamaru 'yipping' in agreement with his partner, whilst Naruto and Shino merely raised their eyebrows.

"No offense Kiba, but your best ideas usually only involve blindly rushing the enemy, a strategy that doesn't even work on your fleas, I'd wager." The Aburame stated calmly, as his teammate merely glared at him. "I think it's rather obvious who should be leading this operation." Shino stated calmly as he readjusted his glasses, Naruto merely nodding.

"Yeah, me!" The blond shouted, Kiba and Shino merely staring blankly at Naruto. "What? Two out of three of them are my teammates, I know how to handle them best!" Naruto stated confidently, whilst Shino raised one finger.

"You forget that one of our teammates is also on that team, and considering the rather large leap between you normally being on the same team as them and Hinata being on the same team as them, I wouldn't count for them to be using the normal strategies you may be familiar with." Shino said as both Kiba and Naruto just raised their eyebrows at the sunglasses-wearing Genin.

"Alright Mr. Smart Guy, what's your big idea then?" Naruto asked with his arms crossed, Shino merely shrugging his shoulders slightly.

"You two distract them while I use your distraction to knock them all out." Shino stated calmly, while the two other members of the team merely stared blankly at him. "Seeing as how you both are fast, but hardly adept at really fighting, you two could prove to quite skilled at distraction."

"FUCK THAT!" The 'loud and obnoxious' Genin screamed at Shino, whom merely pounded at his ears in order to get the ringing out. A ways away from the arguing team, the group of Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata stood in a small circle, finishing up the details of their strategy. The group's speaking had mostly been dominated by Sasuke, wither either quiet inputs on Shino and Kiba from Hinata, or quick extra thoughts from Sakura. In all honesty, this team structure was less prone to arguing due to the lack of dominant personalities (something Naruto's team had in spades).

Hinata's input about her teammates, plus Sasuke's and Sakura's personal experiences with Naruto were proving right: Naruto's group wasn't exactly going to be working like a well-oiled machine.

"Yep... they're already trying to rip each other apart..." Sasuke began, looking at the two girls. "So when the training begins we go forward with the original plan... are we clear?" Sasuke whispered, looking over his shoulder at his teammate's group, before looking back at the current group. Sakura merely shook her head yes, the pink-haired kunoichi obviously ready to go. Hinata, on the other hand, looked rather unsure, and slowly raised her hand. "Yeah?" Sasuke asked rather bluntly, Hinata slowly prodding her fingers together.

"We-well... I know we have to fight them... since this is training.. b-but I was wondering...." Hinata said slowly, looking down at the ground, and only giving occasional glances to her fellow Genin.

"Yeah?" Both Sasuke and Sakura asked at once, Hinata blushing slightly as she thought.

"I-If you two could handle N-N-Naruto-kun, so I don't have to fight him..." The shy girl asked in a stutter, causing Sasuke to raise his eyebrows quite high. Sasuke was actually depending on Hinata hitting Naruto with a few strikes from the Hyuga Clan Jyuken, to help lock up some of the abundant chakra Naruto had so that he wouldn't keep on going and going on through the fight. In Sasuke's mind, the Hyuga before him was absolutely needed to at least tap Naruto a few times. As Sasuke was about to answer, however, Sakura quickly stepped in.

"Of course Hinata, don't worry, Sasuke-kun and I'll handle Naruto." Sakura suddenly interjected, earning her a somewhat peeved look from the Uchiha.

"Why just you and me?" Sasuke immediately asked, his annoyed tone apparent, causing Hinata to fall back a bit, while Sakura merely raised her eyebrows.

"Come on, don't you think it's a bit obvious?" Sakura asked her crush, as Sasuke, once again, only raised his eyebrows in response. Sasuke look a long, hard look at Hinata, whom fidgeted under the Uchiha's gaze, before looking back over his shoulder at Naruto, whom at the moment was in the middle of a 'who can choke who to death first' contest with Kiba, Shino only looking on at the situation with a downtrodden look... well, it was hard to tell if it was downtrodden, but the _slight_ downward curvature of his eyebrows would indicate that... maybe... sort of.

Sasuke only shrugged as he looked back at the two women.

"No." He plainly answered, causing Sakura to face vault.

"Oh, never mind, it's a girl thing!" Sakura said as she lifted herself from off the ground, Hinata's blush ever-present as Sasuke just shook his head.

"Ugh.... fine..." Sasuke relented, deciding that it'd just be better to avoid arguing about this, seeing as how their opposing group's arguing was supposed to help them. Looks like he was going to have to just try to knock Naruto out the old fashioned way: by beating the living hell out of him.

"Alright kids, time for strategies is up." Kakashi called out from behind his book, Naruto and Kiba letting go of each other's throats in order to face the other group, the two sides keeping their eyes on the other. "You all can go on my signal." Kakashi said with a slight yawned as he read through the rest of the page, putting the book away so he could keep a closer eye on the exercise. "And go."

Immediately after Kakashi gave the signal for the exercise to begin, the two groups immediately went at it. Sakura and Hinata jumped several feet away from Sasuke to the left and right of the Uchiha, covering his flanks. The response from Naruto's group was not nearly as coordinated, as the blond in the group merely charged for Sasuke, the only opponent out of the three he was thrilled to fight, Kiba immediately went for Sakura, whom he had all but deemed the weakest link in the opposing group's chain, while Shino just stood his ground, remaining in a set position as he fixed his glasses, making Kakashi nod.

"Interesting move: rather than move in with the others, he's going to hang back and wait for a better chance to strike." Kakashi noted verbally, while Kurenai merely nodded in response, remaining more focused on the fight than on Kakashi. Sasuke's group, in the meantime, had gotten the plan down quite well, having at least somewhat expected most of this.

Hinata's information on Kiba and Shino proved right: Kiba was bullish and rough, and wasn't above honestly going after the weakest link in the team before moving onto the others, even if the weakest link was a girl. Akamaru was hanging back as well, apparently the two not having quite gotten up fighting combinations with each other, despite the Inuzuka legacy. Shino, on the other hand, was a bit smarter: hanging back and waiting for his two more energetic teammates to do their damage before moving in himself.

Sakura and Sasuke, meanwhile, saw Naruto's move coming a mile away: the blond was going for what he saw as the biggest threat out of the three, thinking that since this was the first time he'd been completely fresh in a fight with the Uchiha, that he could use all of his strength and a lot of energy to knock Sasuke out immediately, which would leave the rest of the exercise, presumably, without much work or resistance.

The position the group took was to help deal with this. Though originally Hinata's position to Sasuke's left was originally for Sasuke to kick Naruto her way so she could close up some tenketsu, Hinata now served as a guard for Sasuke's flank, in case Shino thought he could make his move while Sasuke was busy trying to fight Naruto. Sakura's position to Sasuke's right was to help divert the other loud-mouth in the opposing group, to give Sasuke some breathing room. Sasuke's position in the center was a cover-all, meant to help him reach either of the other two members of the group is they needed him, or if he needed them.

"Hey, teme!" Naruto's shout snapped Sasuke out of his thoughts, seeing Naruto making the cross seal which had become a familiar sight in their recent sparring sessions. "Get ready to eat dirt!" The blond shouted, as suddenly three clones appeared right beside Naruto, each preparing to beat the Uchiha down. The first of the clones jumped up into the air and spun forward, bringing one of his legs out to strike Sasuke in the head, a move that Sasuke dodged just by jumping back. As the clone landed, he jumped from his landing position, throwing a punch at Sasuke who blocked it.

Quickly following up the first clone, two more Naruto clones quickly jumped to Sasuke's left and right, each rearing a fist back as the first clone continued to lay down pressure upon the black-haired Genin. Sasuke grunted as he blocked another attempted punch from the first clone, quickly grabbing onto the incoming fists of the next two. With a quick flip and a twist of his wrists the Uchiha managed to send a kick into the first clone's chin, dispelling it. Still holding onto the other two clones' hands as he landed, Sasuke gave a quick, strong pull on their hands, and forced the two Naruto doubles' heads together, releasing the clones as they grabbed onto their noggins.

As Sasuke's footing returned to normal, he was forced to duck back in order to avoid a kunai suddenly chucked at him by the final, real Naruto, whom sprinted towards Sasuke. Before the Uchiha could even blink, Naruto was upon him, the thief's speed and agility serving his effort to catch Sasuke while he was distracted. The Uchiha grunted as he ducked back even further, landing on his hands as Naruto's punched soared over him. Sasuke took his opening as he quickly forced himself up onto his hands, bringing his legs to his chest as he aimed a kick at the blond boy's chest.

With a sudden release Naruto was suddenly struck right in the middle of his chest, the thief stumbling back, looking agitated as Sasuke quickly found his way back onto his feet. Sasuke would also quickly find the two clones he had bash heads a few minutes ago upon him one again. Sasuke, not having nearly enough room or time to dodge or mess with the clones again, simply settled for blocking their initial attacks, his legs locking up as he kept himself steady against the blow.

'Perfect.' Shino thought to himself as he quickly pulled out a kunai, tossing it towards Sasuke's left knee. The bug-user had been waiting for Naruto to force Sasuke into a mostly stationary position, and with the Uchiha strained just holding off two strong slams from the clones, there couldn't have been a better position. If the kunai would hit, then Sasuke's movements would be knocked down several notches, effectively ending his role in the fight.

Unfortunately for the Aburame, he had not taken into account Hinata, whom as soon as she had seen Shino's attempt at an attack threw a few shuriken, throwing multiple in order to ensure they would hit the flying projectile. The shuriken hit their mark, as the kunai was deflected away from the Uchiha, who at that moment managed to shove the two clones away from him, and then proceed to fight the three Naruto's at once. Shino's eyebrows narrowed as he glanced at his shy teammate, Hinata standing in a defensive posture, seemingly ready for whatever would be thrown at her or her group members.

Shino was hesitant in attacking Hinata himself: the Hyuga heiress wasn't incapable of defending herself, and the thought of possibly opening himself to a sudden attack from Sasuke, whom he thought would win in his and Naruto's miniature skirmish, wasn't an appealing idea. Shino also looked over at Kiba, whom by all means was being only somewhat serious with Sakura, reminding him of a cat playing with a mouse with a broken leg... though, if he ever told Kiba this, the dog-partner and his nin-kin would likely rip into him verbally and physically.

Speaking of Kiba, the Inuzuka took a few swings at Sakura, who grunted as she flipped back away from Kiba, who just kept right on up with the Haruno ninja.

"Come on pinky, I'm barely breaking a sweat." Kiba said, taking another swipe at Sakura, whom found that the only practical thing to do against the faster and stronger opponent would be to continually back up. However, Sakura was becoming more and more frustrated with the Inuzuka's taunts, this frustration beginning to build in great amounts as she was continually forced back.

The sound of popping was heard as Sasuke dispersed Naruto's two clones, Sasuke idly taking the two out during a rather raucous round of flying fists which was still ongoing, with Sasuke slowly gaining an advantage over the single, real Uzumaki. Naruto, realizing that one-on-one taijutsu against the Uchiha wasn't going to end well for him, tried to jump back a bit so he could successfully use the Shadow Clone Jutsu once again. His effort was cut short when, suddenly, Sasuke ran up to him and sent a kick up into his jaw, the force of the swift kick being enough to give Naruto some air, and unintentionally sent him towards Kiba's and Sakura's fight.

Sakura's back was facing the approaching Uzumaki bullet, whilst Kiba had not been paying enough attention to Sasuke's and Naruto's fighting to know that Naruto was heading their way. Kiba, getting tired of Sakura dodging him, decided to try and knock the pink-hair kunoichi out now. Kiba, in a bit of an over-exaggerated manner, swept a kick towards Sakura's legs, Sakura stumbling back a bit as it caught out of her legs.

"Take this!" Kiba said, using the momentum from the sweep to swing another kick at Sakura's head. Fortunately for Sakura, and unfortunately for Naruto, Kiba's initial sweep had worked a tad too well, sending Sakura flat on her back. Naruto, whom Sasuke had sent Kiba's and Sakura's way with a strike of his own, suddenly found himself at the receiving end of Kiba's second kick, being sent back Sasuke's way.

Sasuke's eyes widened as his blond teammate once again began heading his way, the Uchiha's eyes peering back at Hinata. Naruto was coming in too fast for him to just stop him in mid-air, and Sakura wouldn't be able to do much from her position on the ground. Sasuke ground his teeth, disregarding his agreement with Sakura at the beginning of the fight, knowing that he could take Naruto out of this fight now if he just...

"Hinata, finish him!" Sasuke said as he quickly fell back onto his hands, cocking his legs towards his chest as Naruto came just over the Uchiha. With a sudden snap the onyx-eyed Genin sent his legs forward at a tilted angle, propelling the blond towards the shy kunoichi. Hinata at first was flabbergasted, almost unwilling to believe that her longtime crush was, for all intents and purposes, flying right at her. The shock quickly turned into embarrassment as the thought fully made its way through her head, time seemingly slowing as she gained control of her mind.

'N-N-Naruto-kun is heading right at me, I have to move!' Hinata thought as she prepared to do just that, before another thought suddenly struck her. 'Wait... if he hits the ground, he might get hurt, I have to catch him!' The shy heiress then thought as she stuck her ground. However, Hinata's thought quickly turned to images of her holding Naruto in her arms, and a deep blush formed on her face. 'But that would be so embarrassing! I have to move!' Hinata thought again, before the previous thought of him hurting himself returned. The shy-kunoichi's thoughts kept turning about like this, the girl frozen in position as her mind went in loops and circles over the matter.

As Hinata seemed to not be able to make up her mind, the laws of gravity took the case into its own hands. With a loud 'crack', Naruto's and Hinata's heads bashed into each other, the blow knocking both Genin senseless as Naruto landed a few feet away from Hinata. Both Genins' eyes were spinning wildly as the red color remained on Hinata's face, 'Naruto-kun' whispered dazedly under her breath.

The collective response to the scene from all the conscious persons was to sweat drop, Kiba especially surprised at the events.

"What the he-AH!" Kiba screamed as he suddenly felt Sakura, from her position beneath him, kick the Inuzuka right in the jewels. Kiba knelt down a bit, in a serious amount of pain when Sakura pulled out a kunai and twisted it around so that she could swing the butt of the weapon. Within second the butt of the kunai slammed into the side of his face, pounding the blunt metal of the weapon across Kiba's jaw, knocking the dog user silly. Akamaru ran over to Kiba, trying to wake his partner up by licking his face while Sakura looked over Kiba.

"Who's laughing now dog-boy!" The pink-haired kunoichi roared at Kiba, whom merely groaned from the very sudden, strong punch from the kunoichi, only saved from further damage by Sasuke, whom was noticing the dynamic of the fight had changed. If Naruto came back to his senses soon, as the Uchiha suspected he would, and suspected that Hinata'd be out from getting hit by the Uzumaki's hard skull for a while, then the fight would become 3-on-2, a situation Sasuke knew wouldn't be good.

"Sakura, take Hinata back into the forest!" The Uchiha suddenly shouted, Sakura snapping out of her anger to nod at Sasuke, reluctantly walking away from Kiba and grabbing up Hinata, before running into the woods. Sasuke would have joined Hinata and Sakura, had not Shino suddenly began stalking towards Sasuke.

"It seems as though, for the moment, it's you and me." The Aburame commented idly, Sasuke glancing towards Kiba and Naruto, making sure the two of them didn't suddenly get up. "I wouldn't bother heading back with Sakura-san and Hinata-san if I were you..." Shino said, extending his arms out to his sides. Slowly, insects began fluttering and flying from out of his coat's sleeves, the insects forming together into a large cloud of bugs. Sasuke, nerved by the sight, instinctively went to sarcasm, to try and draw Shino in for taijutsu.

"What's the matter Shino? Can't fight me without your bugs?" The Uchiha questioned, surprised when Shino merely nodded.

"Don't think I'm as easy to play as either Naruto or Kiba. My chances of beating you with my taijutsu are extremely low... my insects, on the other hand, have a much higher chance of bringing victory against you my way." Shino said in his mono-tone as Sasuke sweat dropped, bringing his hands together and flashing through a few seals as Shino's insects began closing in.

"Fire Release: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted as he pursued his lips, blowing a fireball right towards the horde of insects. Imagine Sasuke's complete shock when, seemingly without effort, the kikaichu merely diverted from their horde, almost all of them dodging the fire jutsu, before reforming into the solid mass.

"Sorry Sasuke, but given the synonymous nature of the Uchiha Clan and Fire Jutsu , that move couldn't have been any more predictable unless you had told me several minutes beforehand." The Aburame stated calmly, as the Uchiha's mind began racing. Sasuke knew he could've just run right back into the woods, however escaping insects, especially this amount, would prove probably too large a task. Add onto that all he would be doing would be to eventually lead the kikaichu insect's way to Sakura and Hinata, and running didn't seem like a good plan.

Even if he stayed, kunai, shuriken, taijutsu, and now even Fire Jutsu, weren't going to help hold these things off....

'Well, no better time than this for a real test..' The Uchiha thought to himself as he began flashing through a new set of seals. Noticing the seals Kakashi raised his eyebrow, recognizing, at the very least, the three seals used.

'They may be in a different order, but those were definitely the seals for the jutsu...' Kakashi thought, his mind flashing back to the chakra element demonstration several weeks ago. 'I was expecting him to be excited... didn't expect him to try and copy it... and fail.' The silver-haired Jounin thought as Kurenai herself had raised eyebrows, as Sasuke turned his hand, his palm facing upwards into the air. Shino slowed the progress of his insects towards Sasuke to see what was happening, and found himself surprised yet underwhelmed at Sasuke's 'harder try'.

In Sasuke's palm formed an opaque orb about the size of an orange, the unclear surface of the orb obscuring what may have been inside of it. Shino, from a distance, couldn't quite make out many more details than that, the bug-user sighing as he shook his head, his insects continuing their forward flying towards the Uchiha. Sasuke merely reared back his palm, his fingers tapping on the orb lightly, causing the sparks inside to begin to move more rapidly.

"Here goes!" Sasuke said, this being his first test of: "Lightning Release: Spark Grenade!"

In an over-handed throw, the Uchiha tossed his new jutsu right towards the horde of kikaichu insects, sparks beginning to fly out from the orb's radius as the jutsu's shell began to break down. The kikaichu, unsure of the effects of the technique, merely moved out of way, the orb flying right into the midst of the insects. To the surprise of Shino and the two observing Jounin a small flash could be seen in the middle of the insect horde, quickly followed by a small explosion of sparks and whistles. The initial blast was several feet in diameter, burning up the insects within it, the follow up was a series of electric sparks jolting from insect to insect, zapping each kikaichu bug to crisps.

Shino's eyebrows were far above his glasses as he stared at what he considered carnage, seeing most of his insects now dead on the ground. Sasuke, not only seeing that his practicing was paying, but also seeing that Shino was greatly disarmed, he made a run for it, heading back into the forest. As Naruto and Kiba slowly shook off their blows, both Genin having attained mighty headaches in the process, Kurenai and Kakashi took note of the training thus far.

"Perhaps it wouldn't be wise for us to continue... this is getting a bit more serious than I expected." Kurenai commented, looking over at Kakashi who only stared back at her.

"You probably should've had your expectations higher at the beginning then." The silver-haired Jounin said as he looked on at the scene. "I knew that Naruto and Sasuke were going to take this seriously, like they do with all of their spars... Shino, given the Aburame's preference for efficiency, was bound to pull some dangerous tricks. Kiba... well, you know the Inuzuka. Point is that it was bound to turn serious from the start: now-" Kakashi began as he smiled under his mask. "-I want to see just who turns out on top." Kakashi commented, Kurenai seeming a bit reluctant at first, before just nodding.

"Fine..." The female Jounin sighed, watching Naruto and Kiba rise to their feet. The two boys were still a bit stunned, Naruto being the first to come to his senses.

"Where the hell did they go?" The blond asked, as Kiba narrowed his eyes, moving his tongue across his mouth.

"Why can I taste blood?" Kiba asked aloud, the two other Genin sweat dropping at the dog-partner's statement. Shino sighed as he shook his head, bending down to the ground and placing his right hand flat on the ground. Slowly but surely, a small trickle of insects came out from under his sleeve, these kikaichu insects having small thorax and head, but rather large abdomens.

"We're going to have to go in after them." Shino said with a bit of a sigh, pouring chakra into the insects, drawing the attention of Kiba and Naruto.

"What the hell are you do-" Naruto began asking, his eyes widening a bit as the abdomens of the kikaichu bugs began swelling, before slowly tearing.

"These are female kikaichu... before one of them becomes a Queen, there's a natural sack of eggs stored in its abdomen to help build off the eventual egg-producing organ..." Shino explained as, slowly, tiny, tiny kikaichu insects began rising out of the female insects abdomens. "If you pour in enough chakra, the eggs will hatch prematurely... they might not be as big or strong as their full-grown fellow insects, but in a stretch, they're useful." Shino explained as the tiny insects left the corpses of the females, climbing up Shino's sleeve. "Seeing as how Sasuke nearly whipped out most of my insects, these will have to do." Shino explained slowly, as Naruto paled, looking over at Kiba, who merely shook his head.

"This is the least disgusting thing he's done..." Kiba commented, making Naruto turn a bit green as Kiba turned to the forest the other group ran into, tapping his chin. "Anyways, it's going to be tough getting them now; these trees grow in thick, it'll be hard enough to move around the forest floor, much less catch them unguarded." Kiba began, as Naruto suddenly kicked in some knowledge.

"Yeah, but because they're so thick the branches are sturdy: we can cross over top of them and then surprise them from above." The former thief commented, leading the Inuzuka to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, Street Fox, how did you know about that?" Kiba asked, Naruto just glancing back at him.

"Well mutt-boy, if you must know, I've done my fair share of hunting out here for food back in the day..." Naruto said, tilting his nose up at Kiba, expecting some kind of smart-ass remark.

"Seriously, well now, ain't that a surprise." Kiba said, surprising Naruto a bit. "Here I thought you were just some no-good street-boy, didn't know you did some hunting." The Inuzuka said with a smirk, causing Naruto to grin a bit as he rubbed his nose in pride.

"Yeah, well, it's not ALL that cool..." Naruto said, a slow grin forming on his face. "What about you, ya seem to be rather interested in it, knowledgeable too." The Uzumaki asked, Kiba shrugging.

"You kidding? One of the big aspects of Inuzuka training is getting along well with your nin-ken." Kiba began, Akamaru barking excitedly. "Why, Akamaru and I would be forced to come back here, and not be allowed to head back home till we brought back somethin' dead." Kiba explained, remembering rather painful instances of punishment from his mother should he try to skip on the exercise.

"Heh, what, you keep dragging a little bunny rabbit home?" Naruto asked, Kiba scoffing.

"You kidding me? I brought entire burrows of rabbits home at one time!" Kiba said proudly, Naruto merely chuckling.

"Oh yeah, you ever here of that old saying 'kill two birds with one stone'?" Naruto asked, before pointing to himself. "Did it!" The blond thief boasted, the Inuzuka waving it off as he prepared another example, before Shino coughed aloud to gather their attention.

"Do I have to remind you two that we're currently in the middle of a training exercise that, by all means, we're losing?" Shino asked the two hunters, both Naruto and Kiba sweat dropping as they recovered themselves. "I've been grouped up with idiots..." Shino muttered under his breath, before rubbing the bridge of his nose.

'Still... these two appear more about moving around the forest, even more so than I do...' The Aburame thought with a sigh as he looked up to the two.

"Seeing as how you two are the......... 'experts' in hunting..." Shino began, using experts in the lightest way possible. "Perhaps it would be prudent for you two to lead the rest of the way..." Shino said in a tone that was obviously disturbed with the word choice, Naruto and Kiba just looking at Shino with a confused look... before smirking.

"This'll be fun..."

---------- Middle of the Woods Adjacent to Team 8 Training Grounds ----------

"Come on... come on Hinata, wake up..." Sakura said to her knocked out group-member, shaking the dark blue-haired girl as she tried to bring her back into the world of the conscious. "Damn it Naruto... your thick head knocked her right out..." Sakura muttered, laying Hinata down slowly as Sasuke slowly approached.

Sasuke had to say, he was rather pleased with his test of the jutsu. During practice back at the Uchiha Clan Compound he had figured out that the initial explosion of energy would strike out at everything within a few feet, and suspected that the sparks would strike out... what he had not seen coming was the fact that the sparks would arc from target to target as long as they were nearby. The Uchiha knew he needed to continue working with it... but that use showed that the initial burns were worth the effort.

Sasuke shook his head, returning his focus to the present as he looked at the two kunoichi.

"I suppose she's not waking up soon, right?" The onyx-eyed Genin asked, Sakura merely nodding her head in affirmation, causing Sasuke to sigh. "Great... " Sasuke said as he walked over to one of the trees, leaning up against it. "We're in the hole then: Naruto and Kiba are bound to recover sooner rather than later, and Shino can still fight... somewhat." Sasuke said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Sakura nodded as she slowly stood up and walked around, checking around for any of the other members of the group.

"Well... maybe we should get out of here and then come up with a new plan. I really don't like being in the middle of the woods with those guys possibly up and about." Sakura said, knowing her blond teammate's skill with stealth and various other skills would only be served by the thick forests. A rustling of leaves was heard as Sakura and Sasuke's attention was snapped over to Hinata, seeing Kiba stand over the dark blue-haired girl.

"Gee, sounds like a nice idea, except you're a tad bit late for that." Kiba said with a bit of a smirk, Sasuke and Sakura immediately tensing as they looked at the dog-user.

"Where the hell did you come from?" Sasuke asked, the only response from Kiba being the upward jab of the Inuzuka's thumb. The two opposing Genin blinked as they suddenly looked up, Sasuke greeted with empty space, while Sakura's field of vision was taken up by a sudden dash of-

**WHAP!**

The Street Fox of Konoha landed right on top of Sakura, the unconscious pink-haired kunoichi's head underneath Naruto's foot as he smirked over at Sasuke.

"That's two for three teme..." Both hunters said as they cracked their knuckles, Sasuke pulling out a kunai as he slowly backed away from them, the 'top of the class' Genin feeling very claustrophobic.

"What, you two think you can take me?" Sasuke asked, though his voice lacking its normal confidence and strength. Surprisingly, Kiba and Naruto shook their heads, before pointing behind Sasuke.

"Nope, but he can." They both said quizzically as Sasuke blinked, turning around... to be greeted with the sight of Shino's palm in his face.

"Remember me?" Shino asked, Sasuke not able to even begin scratching quickly enough as the pre-born kikaichu insects swarmed on top of the Uchiha's skin, Sasuke immediately scratching at every surface of his body to try and force the bugs off of him. Slowly Sasuke's movements began to die down, and a few seconds after that they ceased all together, as the bug-covered boy fell over onto the ground, unconscious.

The three unlikely trio looked down upon their unconscious foes as Shino's insects returned to him, Naruto and Kiba smirking quite widely as they pumped their fists into the air.

"Alright! Talk about comeback!" Kiba shouted, Akamaru suddenly popping out of Kiba's coat in order to bark in affirmation of his partner's exclamation.

"Seriously, I'm going to be able to rub this in Sasuke-teme's face for days!" Naruto shouted along with Kiba, the blond laughing excitedly as Shino merely nodded.

"Indeed, though it seems my initial assessments of you two were proven rather incorrect… you are capable of more than the roles of being mere distractions." Shino said, causing both excited Genin to nod... before suddenly looking insulted. "Take that as you will." The Aburame said with a shrug, beginning to walk back towards the clearing. "At any rate, Uzumaki, create some Shadow Clones to carry these three back." Shino ordered, Naruto's right eye twitching... before making the cross seal.

"Whatever." Naruto said as three copies of him appeared, each picking up the unconscious members of the opposing team. "So, where were we?" Naruto suddenly asked Kiba, who tapped his chin.

"Let's see, you were boasting about killing two little birds with one measly stone... really pathetic if you ask me especially when you consider I did the same a while back, but instead of throwing rocks, I had Akamaru go up and tear 'em up, isn't that right boy?" Kiba said as he pet his nin-kin, Akamaru barking in a boastful manner as Naruto just waved it off.

"Whatever, the birds were my smallest accomplishment ever. One time, I tricked a snake into biting a rubber-ball, and its teeth got stuck in it." Naruto said with a grin, Kiba just shaking his head.

"You actually had to get the snake's teeth stuck before going for a kill? One time Akamaru found this big old snake out in the middle of the woods, and we went after it with nothing but my bare hands and Akamaru's fangs." The Inuzuka boasted, Akamaru showing off his so called fangs. The back and forth would go on for several minutes, each Genin listing off an animal they killed and how they killed each, the two boys trying to outdo each other when it came to stories. Needless to say the person this irked most was Shino, who not only was forced to listen for the entire time while they walked back, but also couldn't have cared less about the topic of conversation the two were talking about.

Meanwhile, Kurenai and Kakashi were awaiting the return of the Genin, Kakashi somewhat more patiently than Kurenai. While Kakashi was content to just reading his book, Kurenai was tapping her foot, becoming somewhat nervous at the possible result of the conflicts that could've taken place in the woods.

"You know, I heard somewhat stress is pretty bad for you." The silver-haired Jounin commenting idly, flipping a page in his book as Kurenai gave him an annoyed look.

"At least I'm actually somewhat worried about them." The female Jounin said, Kakashi just shrugging.

"Why worry? It's not like they're going to kill each other." Kakashi said, Kurenai sighing as she shook her head. "They seem fine to me." Kakashi said suddenly, Kurenai's head snapping up to observe Shino, Kiba, and Naruto coming out of the woods, followed by three Naruto clones carrying the unconscious bodies of the other group. "By the way, you were right; I did think they had a chance." Kakashi said with a chuckle, Kurenai giving him an incredulous look as the silver-haired Jounin put his book away, clapping as he watched the conscious Genin approach.

"Alright you three, excellent work: you managed to knock your opponents unconscious despite a terrible start." Kakashi said with a curved eye, the three conscious Genin sweat dropping as the Naruto clones laid down their unconscious counterparts.

"Gee, thanks for the compliment Kakashi-sensi..." Naruto said, the cycloptic Jounin shrugging.

"I call them as I see them, and frankly, I did see bad work from you three at the beginning of this." Kakashi began, Kurenai quickly jumping in to comment.

"Kakashi's being blunt, but is still quite right: your lack of teamwork at the beginning of this exercise, had things not turned your way with the... accidentally knock-out of Hinata." Kurenai said, pointing at Hinata. "You three would've most likely lost the exercise, and you three would be the ones carted around." Kurenai began, the three Genin as the female Jounin continued. "And had you exhibited such sub-par teamwork out in a real mission, a worse fate than merely being knocked unconscious could have awaited you." Kurenai finished up, Naruto and Kiba looking a tad nervous as Shino just stood still and silent.

"The good news is that you did manage to pull together... meaning you learned something from the exercise." Kakashi said, before pointing at Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata. "These three also worked rather well from beginning to end... so I'd have to say the exercise was a success all around." Kakashi said, a curve once again reaching his eye as the three Genin nodded. Kurenai, with a small smile of her own, moved over and picked Hinata up.

"Well, we'll be on our way, missions to do after all." The female Jounin stated, Kiba groaning in disappointment as he waved back at Naruto.

"Later then, Fox... I'll tell you about my many amazing exploits another time." Kiba said with a smirk as Naruto just shook his head.

"Whatever dog-boy, you just keep telling yourself they're amazing." Naruto fired back, both Genin chuckling a little as Kiba walked over to Kurenai, Shino shaking his head as he too began walking.

"Until another time, Uzumaki." Shino said in his normal monotone, the Aburame leaving Naruto blinking as the three walked off, a thought striking Naruto as he suddenly shouted.

"Hey, tell Hinata sorry about knocking her out!" Naruto shouted, Kurenai waving back at the blond as Naruto nodded, Kakashi, underneath his mask, smirking at his student. The silver-haired Jounin remained silent on his thoughts, as he lugged Sakura and Sasuke up onto his shoulders.

"Well.... judging by the huge lump on Sakura's head and the... bug bites on Sasuke.... I'd say these two are going to be out for a while..." Kakashi said, garnering Naruto's attention. "Since just taking one of us out on missions would be a little ridiculous, I'm going to go ahead and call off missions... reward for winning." Kakashi commented with a curved eye, Naruto smiling brightly. "Just expect twice as much, and twice as hard, training tomorrow." The silver-haired Jounin added quickly, Naruto face-vaulting into the ground as his good mood was suddenly dashed.

"See you tomorrow Naruto." Kakashi said as he too began walking off, the Street Fox merely waving from his position on the ground. Tomorrow... was going to be a bitch....

---------- Later that Night ----- The Hyuga Compound ----------

The night was humid. Despite the sun no longer being up, and the moon having gracefully replaced the ball of fire in the sky, the warm air of the Konoha night was still causing discomfort among many around the city. One of the people made so uncomfortable by this unusual humidity opened her window to try to let some air into her room, Hinata standing at the window as she overlooked the night sky. The Hyuga Heiress sighed in a bit of relief as most of the hot air escaped from her room, replacing it was a somewhat cooler atmosphere.

Hinata smiled lightly as she looked out at the star-dotted sky, smiling slightly as she recalled the early parts of the day she was conscious for. Hinata had not expected Kurenai to have arranged for a joint team-training exercise that morning, and was pleasantly surprised when she found out the team they would be training with was Naruto's team.

'Naruto-kun...' Hinata thought with a small blush. She still recalled how excited her crush had seemed to see her, and how energetically he told her about the events that had taken place before they had seen each other. Even though Hinata had been mostly silent, just the fact that she was talking to him perked her up. After all, she, along with Neji and his friends Tenten and Lee, had been a part of the old 'Street Fox Fan Club' since... well, for her, since the snow day all those years ago.

Her face turned an even deeper shade of red when she remembered those days. Naruto's will, his strength of spirit, and his always upbeat attitude were what had attracted Hinata to him, seeing someone who she knew must have led a tough life go so far, and try too hard to get beyond it... it was the kind of strength she wished to see in herself. Sure, he was a thief, and yes he stole... but that didn't matter to her.

'He only did it to survive... he was never selfish..' Hinata thought, smiling as she did. That was something that the club had been built on: the idea of Naruto as an honorable thief, just stealing what he needed, what he couldn't do without, and never going beyond that, never giving into that temptation... or, at least, that's what Lee, her cousin, and Tenten always talked about back then. With a small giggle Hinata walked away from her window, preparing to try to go back asleep when, rather suddenly, she heard footsteps run by her window.

Hinata's head snapped towards the window, her eyes blinking as she heard the footsteps slowly distance themselves. The Hyuga Heiress blinked a few times, torn between just ignoring the strange occurrence, or just letting her curiosity take over and check it out. The young kunoichi, curiosity winning the match-up, slowly walked over to her window and looked out both ways, noticing a shadow running towards the back of the Hyuga Clan Compound.

Hinata began to feel a little nervous as she climbed out of her window onto the ledge the shadow-figure had run across, slowly following it as the shadow jumped off into the back of the compound. The indigo-haired girl slowly made her way across the ledge, her eyes slowly peaking over the ledge to look. The shadow figure had snuck its way into the gardens, and was slowly making its way over to one of the large statues that decorated the Clan Gardens.

Hinata's eyes widened as the shadow figure ducked beside the statue, the figure bringing its hands together for, what Hinata assumed to be, a seal. With a quiet 'puff' three copies of the shadow figure suddenly appeared around the statue, Hinata barely hearing the whispers of 'careful' coming from the multiple figures. Hinata squinted her eyes, trying to make out the figure. Slowly, Hinata brought her own hands together, flashing through seals to activate her Byakugan, to get a better view.

"Byakugan..." Hinata whispered as her eyes activated, her eyesight extended and cleared greatly. Hinata was barely able to withhold a gasp of surprise as her eyes were forced to watch as four copies of Naruto slowly began lifting the garden statue up off of its platform, and slowly carrying it over to the garden walls. Hinata was stunned beyond all measure as she slowly watched her crush cart the statue over to the wall and then created more clones, the new clones helping to lug the statue over the wall, and out into the streets.

Hinata sat on the ledge, her eyes wide as the Byakugan just deactivated on its own. Slowly, Hinata's mind began to work again, as slowly her thoughts began to churn out.

'Wh-why did Naruto-kun do this? He bragged about being able to purchase things own his own now, why steal again? How long as he been stealing? Who has he been stealing from? Why steal from us? Did he not notice me seeing him?" Hinata thought... as that last thought suddenly snapped a whole new series of thoughts. 'What if he continues this? What if someone else sees him... catches him? He wouldn't be allowed to be a ninja anymore... he would be in jail...' Hinata thought as she sat up.

"I-I-I have to do something to try and help..." Hinata said as the thought of talking to Naruto flashed across her mind. Of course, the thought as immediately followed up with her breath catching in her throat.

"I... I can barely talk to him when we're just talking in general..." Hinata said aloud, shaking her head as she lowered her gaze. Hinata sat there for several moments, desperately trying to think of something, before thinking. "M-Maybe I should tell someone... someone who'll try to help... who can help..." The unnerved Hyuga thought as she shakily nodded her head, standing up as she thought of whom to talk to. The shy girl stopped by her room, putting on a jacket quickly before running off into the village.

Hinata ran for several minutes, asking a few night owls directions along her way before arriving at a large apartment complex. After inquiring a room number, Hinata ran up several flights of stairs to one of the upper-floors, before running through the halls, finding the room she wanted. Hinata first knocked softly on the door, and when unable to get any sort of response, knocked again, only much harder.

"Hold on..." A tired response came from within the room, shuffling and banging noises coming from within the apartment. After a nerved-wracking minute of waiting, the door slowly opened, one tired looking Kakashi Hatake looking down at Hinata, his left eye uncovered but closed, while his mask still covered his face. The silver-haired Jounin blinked his right eye, yawning as he rubbed his eye.

"Hinata? What are you doing... it can't even be two o'clock..." Kakashi murmured, before noticing how shaken the young girl was.

"Y-Y-You're Naruto's sensei now... please... I need to tell you something... he needs help..." Hinata said , stammering as she spoke, Kakashi's eyebrows narrowing as he slowly moved out of the way.

"Come in, and tell me what happened." The Jounin said reassuringly, Hinata nodding as she slowly enterred the Jounin's apartment.

---------- The Next Day ----- Team 7 Training Grounds ----------

'Dear Kami Naruto...' Kakashi thought to himself as he looked at his students training, keeping a closer eye on Naruto. Kakashi's and Hinata talk last night greatly surprised Kakashi, whom had been about as clueless of Naruto's renewed thieving behavior as, he would assume, almost everyone in Konoha was. Furthermore, the boy wasn't just stealing food and clothes, he was stealing, judging from his theft at the compound he was now robbing people of very valuable goods.

Kakashi knew that Naruto could end up in a lot of trouble if he ever got caught by anyone with a less than favorable opinion of him. Kakashi had brought the group to the training grounds to give himself some room, if he could take Naruto to the side while Sakura and Sasuke were busy training, the likelihood of them overhearing the conversation would diminish greatly. The silver-haired Jounin took a deep breath as he slowly walked towards Naruto.

'Alright Kakashi, no sweat, you can talk to him about this. Sure, the personal aspects of being a teacher is what you were hoping to avoid in the first place... sure you have about as much social skill as your average corpse... sure you have absolutely no idea what you're students life been like up to this point, and you couldn't possibly fathom why he's stealing again in the first place, and really can't imagine asking how without stumbling all over yourself... and you really have absolutely NO idea what you're doing right now.' Kakashi though as he began sweating, blinking as each thought made him slump more and more.

"Kakashi-sensei, what's up?" Kakashi suddenly heard, causing the Jounin jump a bit. Unknowingly Kakashi had walked up to Naruto during his thinking.

"Ummm... well, Naruto, umm... I was thinking... umm... you see..." Kakashi started off, barely able to get a word out as Naruto blinked a few times, his hands locked in the final seal of the Gust Jutsu.

"Hold on a second Kakashi-sensei." The blond said quickly as Kakashi only nodded, hoping to use the quick break to think. Naruto quickly shout the name of the jutsu, slamming his hands together as a small, but fast, whirlwind left Naruto's palms, the gust heading swiftly over to the kunai still lodged within the tree. The hit was spot on and, after a few seconds of blowing, the kunai was blown from its position jammed in the tree, Naruto and Kakashi staring dumbly at the freed weapon.

"AHA! FINALLY! YES! FINALLY GOT THAT FUCKING KUNAI OUT OF THE TREE!" Naruto screamed and hooted and hollered, jumping up and down in celebration as Kakashi just chuckled.

"So you did." The silver-haired Jounin said, momentarily smiling at his student... before Naruto looked over at his sensei with a curious look.

"Anyway, you wanted to say something Kakashi?" The blond asked, Kakashi freezing as he remembered his original reason for walking up to Naruto. Kakashi mumbled for several seconds, sweating a bit as he tried to form coherent thoughts on the matter. After a failed minute of murmurs and coughs, Kakashi just stopped, and chuckled.

"Oh, I was just going to tell you how well you were doing, I think it might be time to get you up onto another level of jutsu now." Kakashi tried to save face, the effort working as Naruto grinned widely.

"Really, awesome!" Naruto shouted again, the blond ninja obviously excited.

"Indeed. Now... go get Sasuke and Sakura, mission time." Kakashi said, Naruto only nodding as he ran off to his two teammates. Kakashi just stood there for a moment, before slapping his hand onto his face. "Ugh... sensei would've been so much better at this...." Kakashi said, shaking his head as he sighed.

"Oh well.... I'll get another chance to talk to him soon enough..." The silver-haired Jounin sighed, shaking his head as he looked up at his students... the full weight of being a teacher finally reaching the man's shoulders.

R&R

Song Omake 1

(Alright... there are so many people in this Omake, I'm going to have to do this in a different style this time)

"Hello"- Normal Speech.

Character Name: _Hello_- Singing

Naruto smiled as he and his clones slowly hefted the statue over the Hyuga Clan wall.

"Alright guys, come on, just one... more... heave!" Naruto said as his clones tossed up the statue, Naruto barely catching the huge thing... before falling back over the wall, and onto the ground...

Or, he would've fallen onto the ground, had the ground not given way out from underneath him. Naruto and the statue slid all the way done some sort of tunnel, the statue and Naruto tumbling down before falling out of the tunnel... and onto a pile of gold. Naruto shook his head as he looked around, his eyes going wide as he looked. He had landed into a cavern, and in that tavern was mountains of loot and gold and treasure. Naruto, still holding onto the statue, slowly slid down the large pile of gold, before he hit the ground.

"Well, well, about time you arrived young man." Naruto heard as he slowly turned, greeted with the sight of a large group of twenty people standing in front of him. "Allow me to introduce us..." An older man at the front of the group of twenty started. "We are the Twenty Thieves, and I am the leader, Cassim." Cassim began, as he slowly began pointing at the other members of the gang.

"This is my son, Aladdin, these young men are Yahiko, Yutaro, Red X, Yami Bakura, Miroku, Yusuke Urameshi, Musica, oh, and you from canon's Part 1." The various named persons waved at Naruto, who merely blinked at his 'canon self'.

"This gang right here is the Royal Flush Gang, King, Queen, Jack, Ace, and Ten." The five members of the gang waved at Naruto, who meekly waved back.

"These lovely ladies are Yuffie Kisaragi and Misao, while this big monster here is Bowser and this man is the Cookie Crisp Robber." Cassim introduced these last four, Naruto counting over and over again.

"Wait... that's just nineteen." Naruto said, as Cassim nodded.

"Indeed. Nineteen pick-pockets, kidnappers, shop lifters, thieves, and many other various acts of larceny... we want you to be the twentieth." Cassim said as Naruto just blinked, pointing to himself in a questioning manner. "Yes, you. You certainly have the prerequisites down, and your skill is good enough... you should join us. All this loot is shared between us, and we keep an eye on each other's backs... so, are you in or out?" Cassim asked, extending a hand out to Naruto.

Naruto looked at Cassim's hand a bit questioningly at first, looking around at the treasure for a few seconds... before shaking Cassim's hand.

"Alright, I'll join." Naruto said as the entire group roared in celebration, the individual members walking up to him.

Yahiko: _Congratulations bub,_

_you've joined the club!_

Yutaro: _And ev'rybody here agrees!_

_We've got the finest troupe of very sneaky snoops!_

All: _Welcome to the 20 Thieves!_

Naruto shook various hands, as suddenly the members began tossing him around a bit.

Red X: _A fraternity of thugs that you can trust!_

Red X said as he pushed Naruto towards the female members of the group, whom were busy kicking Miroku around.

All the girls: _So long as you're not perveted sleeze!_

Naruto was eventually caught, the Cookie Crisp Robber eying the statue that had come in with Naruto.

The Cookie Crisp Robber: _We got room to spare, and you got loot to share!_

All: _Welcome to the 20 Thieves!_

After much fumbling Naruto wound up in a seat, Misao coming up right behind him while he sat.

Misao: _Always get to lie and cheat!_

_Hell, we'll even steal your seat!_

Misao cheered as she suddenly pulled the bejeweled chair out from underneath Naruto's rear, the blond fell right flat onto his face, suddenly picked up by the Royal Flush Gang whom began putting ice on his face.

Royal Flush Gang: _But we always aim to please!_

_We care for one another, you'll never miss your mother!_

Suddenly, Yami Bakura, Miroku, and Yusuke dragged Naruto away, showing off various bits of loot gathered from around the cave.

Yami Bakura, Miroku, Yusuke: _Scheming up a scam, out on the lam!_

As quickly as they appeared, the three were crushed underneath Yuffie, Musica, and Bowser, whom took the loot they had and ran off.

Yuffie, Musica, Bowser: _Taking whatever we please!_

Red X: _And if you like to lurk, you're going to love this work!_

All: _Welcome to the 20 Thieves!_

Cassim suddenly appeared to drag Naruto off away from the insanity, Aladdin joining the two to walk around the mounds of treasure.

Cassim: _Together we're the perfect team!_

_Larceny is our great dream!_

Aladdin: _Come and join our family tree!_

Suddenly, Naruto's canon self from part 1 burst out from underneath a mountain of treasure, grinning widely as he looked around.

Part 1 Canon Naruto: _LIVE A LIFE OF LEISURE! DRUNK ON ALL THIS TREASURE!_

Naruto's canon self slid down the mound of treasure as the other thieves began to surround Naruto, each pointing their various weapons at him.

All: _As an honorary member of the gang_

_That no one in time ever leaves!_

Yami Bakura: _You gotta snatch and sneak,_

Musica: _Or else your future's bleak._

Yusuke: _We got a life time contract that you're bound to keep!_

Bowser: _Ya wanna save yer skin, you'd better fit right in!_

The weapons were withdrawn as the dancing once again commences, Naruto beginning to wonder what the hell he had gotten into.

All: _Wel, wel, Welcome to the_

_Wel, wel, Welcome to the 20 Thieves!_

_WELCOME!_

_('Welcome to the Fourty Thieves' original lyrics belong to the Disney Corporation)_

Song Omake 2

_Hello- Sasuke, Itachi, Tobi singing_

_**Hello - Tobi Singing**_

**Hello- Shino singing**

_Hello - All characters singing_

_**Hello- Hinata, Sakura, Ino, Tenten, Temari singing**_

In the lot of a large studio stood a single water-tower, a giant 'K' emblazoned upon the tower. Everything was quiet and calm.. until the tower bust open, three figures standing atop of the remains of the tower.

_It's time for Animeniacs!_

Sasuke Itachi and Tobi sang as they jumped off the top of the tower, bouncing off the ground.

_And we've been given quite a task!_

_To have you read this and relax,_

_while not stabbing each other in the backs!_

_We're Animeniacs!_

_Come join the Uchiha Brothers_

Sasuke and Itachi began, before Tobi jumped in front of them.

_**And their brother I am not!**_

_Still we're brought together for this stupid one shot!_

_We'll get locked up in the tower,_

_if make you laugh we do not!_

_So you hang loose, while we vamoose_

_and make some sort of plot!_

_We're Animeniacs!_

_Tobi's a goof,_

As Tobi danced, quite suddenly, Itachi began trying to stab him to death.

_and Itachi cracks!_

_Sasuke's sneaking out the back_

_while Tsunade plays the sax!_

_We're Animeniacs!_

Slowly but surely, several members of the rest of the cast began to come out of the buildings, each trying to get their own time.

_Meet evil Orochimaru who wants to rule the Kishi-verse_

_Team 10 sticks together, while Asuma gets whacked by a curse!_

_Pairings wars continue, NaruxHina's still in first!_

_Kiba writes our scripts_

Shino suddenly appeared, and tore the scripts Kiba had been writing to bits.

**But he's a dip, why bother to rehearse?**

Before Kiba could complain, the two of them were gathered up by the rest of the cast.

_We're Animeniacs!_

_Sakura made out our contracts!_

_We're zany to the max,_

_while Jiraiya takes dirt naps!_

_We're Animeni!_

_Totally Insani!_

The girls suddenly jumped in front of the rest of the cast,

**_Here's the show's namey!_**

Tobi, Sasuke, and Itachi jumped up and grabbed onto a large sign emblazoned with 'Animeniacs'.

_AN-I-MEN-I-ACS!_

_Those are the facts!_

_('Animaniacs Theme' original lyrics is property of Steven Spielberg and Warner Bros. Studios)_

Author's Notes (Original Jutsu)

Name: Spark Grenade

C-Rank, Offensive, Short Range (0-5m)

Users: Sasuke Uchiha

Hand Seals: Hare, Monkey, Ox

Description: After focusing any amount of lightning chakra into the palm, the  
user can concentrate the lightning chakra into the shape of a stable orb.  
This orb can be thrown and, depending on the amount of chakra placed into the  
jutsu, will produce a blast in rough equivalence with the amount of chakra.


	21. Halloween Chapter

Naruto Alone

_The winds do howl with great disdain_

_for in this day, great fear and panic reign_

_with great screams and fiendish delight_

_at this Witching Hour, doth come Halloween Night._

_Beware the full moon, and witch's cackle._

_Arganaut, with this chapter, shall now tackle_

_the great mystery of Konoha's Hallow's Eve_

_on which Naruto, shall receive no reprieve..._

_The Wave Arc will come to those in time._

_But before that, a little fun, that's no crime_

_Part of the continuity, well, not really, no._

_But that doesn't mean it can't be fun you know._

_So sit back, relax and watch the shadows' wills_

_As you read this pleasant chapter of fun and thrills_

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Halloween Chapter

Halloween... an odd holiday celebrated, for the most part, within the ninja villages. The why as to this is rooted back into the old days of ninja history, in the days before the villages, in the days before the idea of the clans, hell, in the days before jutsu, professional ninja were the great masters of disguise. Without transformation jutsus, ninja could not instantly or greatly disguise their looks, so when they would need to hide themselves in plain sight whey would have to be able to make costumes, to properly paint make-up, to change your voice, change the way you walked, change the way you spoke.

Indeed, the art of disguise at one time was so finely tuned, that a ninja could easily switch between twelve different personalities and thirteen different costumes within the course of a day: none of them their true appearance or self. Of course, time slowly wore on, and eventually the art of disguise was passed over for the simplicity of the transformation jutsu. After all, why bother going through all the trouble and money of so thoroughly disguising yourself when, in an instance, you could take the appearance you needed at the cost of only a sliver of chakra.

For decades upon decades, the transformation jutsu remained the ninja's most pertinent method of disguise, with the old ways slowly but surely fading away into the dust bin of history. Until, that is, it was revived by the 2nd Raikage. The 2nd Raikage, being the rather jovial and good-willed old man that he was, wished to honor the skill that had helped ninja put in place for the supremacy that modern ninja then enjoyed. So, with merely the snap of his fingers, the 2nd Raikage had put into place in the Cloud Village the holiday of Halloween, named for, as the 2ndRaikage put it, what the disguises truly were on the inside: hollow. The... spelling error that turned 'Holloween' to 'Halloween' stuck, and the misspelled holiday was celebrated, for the longest time, only in Cloud.

However, as time would pass, and ninja from different villages would go to Cloud for diplomatic missions and Chunin Exams, the news of the holiday would spread, and soon enough it would be celebrated in all of the ninja villages, including, quite obviously, the main focus of this Halloween night: Konoha.

----------- Konoha ----------

As the sunset on Konoha, Halloween decorations began going up in greater numbers. Families began putting out several finished Jack o' Lanterns with small candles inside of them to light them up, others put up portrayals of demons and various other dark creatures to give their homes a more dark and horrifying appearance. Of course some people stood wearily outside of their homes, having been hit hard enough over the course of the years by pranks from trouble making children to now warrant standing guard over their homes.

You'd think that this sort of holiday would prove to be a favorite of a long-time troublemaker in Konoha. One who's reputation for mischief, thievery and cunning would echo in every corridor in every home... and indeed, you'd be proven right. In previous times, Halloween was Naruto's jackpot day: the shops all had themselves open to the various children, and with so many kids running around in costumes, both real and transformed, Naruto could just use a transformation jutsu, run up to stores, get food, clothes, weapons, or whatever else he may have needed, and then split.

Indeed, Halloween proved to be quite the fruitful day for young Naruto. However, upon gaining a career as a ninja, and finding that anything he could need to buy could be easily purchased with the money he would earn, the need for stealing food and clothes on Halloween was gone, which quickly brought about a rather puzzling dilemma: what to do on Halloween?

This was the question Naruto continuously pondered throughout that day's training. The blond knew today was Halloween, he knew his normal patterns that he took to... but, with those effectively unneeded now he had no plans, and no ideas.

"Alright kids, that will be all for today." Naruto was quickly snapped out of his thoughts when Kakashi suddenly called for the end of training. "Since tonight is Halloween, you all have the distinct pleasure of being allowed to skip missions so you can prepare for the festivities." Kakashi said, scratching the side of his head as his students ceased their training. "I, on the other hand, am going to go ahead and lock up my house..." The Jounin said as his Genin raised their eyebrows.

"Why?" Sakura asked as Kakashi suddenly froze, his eye narrowing as his skin paled

"Last year I accidentally put the Icha Icha Paradise book I was reading into a kid's bag, and that kid's mother has gotten me banned from Halloween activities for a long time..." The silver-haired Jounin said, his students sweat dropping, Kakashi merely shuddering "You accidentally put soft-core porn in some kid's bag one time and that woman tears you a new one..." Kakashi muttered under his breath. "But, that's hardly something for you to worry about, tonight is your all's night to have fun... so do so..." The silver-haired Jounin said as he walked off, the Jounin obviously somewhat downtrodden.

The three Genin blinked in a somewhat confused manner, before Sakura quickly ran off, the pink-haired kunoichi disappearing in the blink of an eye after Kakashi gave them the okay to leave. Sasuke merely sighed, the boy looking rather gloomy... well, more gloomy than usual, as he began walking off as well. Naruto, still rather unsure about how to celebrate the holiday, and more than interested in figuring out how, ran up to Sasuke, deciding to ask his broody teammate.

"Hey, teme." Naruto started off, the Uchiha snapping his head at his blond teammate, obviously irritated.

"What?!" Sasuke snapped, the blond Genin taken aback for a moment, before recollecting himself.

"Jeez, what the hell crawled up your ass and died?" Naruto asked rather bluntly, Sasuke sighing as he looked all around.

"Well... not that its your business dobe-" Sasuke himself tossed an insult at Naruto, causing the Street Fox's eyebrow to twitch. "-but Halloween isn't exactly as good day for me..." Sasuke said as, upon seeing that the coast was clear, he began walking quite quickly. Naruto, blinking in confusion, followed his broody teammate.

"Huh, what do you mean, I heard it was supposed to be a good day for everyone?" Naruto asked as Sasuke laughed in a rather sardonic manner, pulling nervously at his collar. .

"Well, anyone who doesn't ha-" Sasuke's words were cut short by a sudden scream, a scream that chilled Sasuke's blood and made Naruto's muscles tense. They both knew the scream all too well... it was the scream of...

"SASUKE-KUN!" The Sasuke Uchiha Fan Club.

"Fan girls, gotta run!" The object of the Fan Club's adoration said as he sprinted off, the fan girls tailing him quite closely, each shouting at the Uchiha.

"Sasuke-kun, come to our party!"

"Sasuke-kun, let's go out together!"

"Sasuke-kun, put on this costume!"

"For the last time no, dammit! How many years have to go by before you all take a hint?!" The Uchiha shouted back at his fan club, whom merely kept running after him. Naruto, dumbfounded as he was, could only find the inspiration to move once Sakura ran by, the pink-haired girl shouting at the group to slow down while she caught up. The blond ninja, upon seeing the sight, immediately scratched off asking her about Halloween.

"Well... their Halloween kind of sucks..." Naruto said idly as he jammed his hands in his pockets, walking off with a bit of a mystified look on his face. "Well... guess I'll have to wait till tonight to see how everyone else celebrates..." The blond said with a mutter, stalking off into his old hideout to wait till nightfall.

---------- Later that Night ----------

By the time Naruto emerged from his hideout, Halloween in Konoha was in full swing, and the Street Fox of Konoha was immediately swept into the raging waters of the spirit of the holiday. Everywhere Naruto looked there were people in costumes, the extremely young nor the extremely old ducking out of the holiday. As Naruto looked around he saw people dressed as oni, birds, in Hokage outfits, in ninja get-ups, as various demons, as different animals of both bright and dark colors.

If simply smelling the air could introduce sugar directly into one's system, then with each breath Naruto would've been slowly sending himself into a diabetic coma. The smell of treats and sweets filled the atmosphere, overwhelming Naruto's senses as they had done every year. As Naruto began to drool, he did not pay attention to the two hairy figures running his way until the large of the two busted right into him. As Naruto fell onto his rear, the blond swiftly sent an indignant look to the person he had just run into.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Naruto screamed, only to receive a similar shout.

"I was, why don't you stop gawking and start walking!" The hairy character shouted, the little hairy thing next to him barking lightly. Suddenly, there was a moment of lucidity amongst the group as Naruto recognized the two hairy beings.

"Kiba, Akamaru?" Naruto asked in a rather amazed tone, his fellow Genin covered in gray and brown hairs, while Akamaru seemed to be dyed a similar color. Upon properly hearing Naruto's voice, Kiba and Akamaru immediately smirked.

"Hey hey, Naruto, you weren't the person I was expecting to bump into" Kiba, said as he slowly stood up, Naruto immediately following him up.

"Yeah... wasn't expecting to see you either... especially with all the hair..." Naruto said slowly, the Inuzuka looking at himself and laughing.

"Well, why wouldn't I be hairy, I'm out tonight as a wolf, Akamaru too." The 'wolf-boy' said with a triumphant grin, Akamaru doing his best to imitate a wolf howl. "Anyway, where's your costume man? Can't be out and about on Halloween without a costume." Kiba said as he crossed his arms, Naruto sweat dropping as he shrugged.

"Well, I can't really do much about it right now, don't have the money on me to buy a costume..." The Uzumaki stated, as Kiba laughed.

"Who cares, just transform yourself up a little costume. After all, I'm transformed, no one'll care if you just go ahead and 'poof' yourself up a costume." Kiba explained to the new Halloween goer, Naruto merely nodding.

"Well... if you say so." Naruto said, forming the ram seal. "Transform!" The young blond shouted as he was enveloped in a plume of smoke, said smoke clearing after a few second, eliciting a whistle from Kiba.

"Heh, ain't much, but it certainly suits you." Kiba said, looking onto a Naruto who had basically transformed a small scarf over his head, a rather heavy coat to cover his torso, and a seemingly full burlap sack, taking on the appearance of an old fashioned robber.

"Kind of does, doesn't it?" The thief chuckled out with a smirk, looking over his simple attire as Kiba shrugged.

"Anyway, what are ya up to?" Kiba asked curiously, Naruto pulling himself away from admiring his costume to look at the Inuzuka.

"Well... nothing really, this is really my first time celebrating Halloween, so I don't have much ideas on how to..." Naruto began, noticing Kiba smirking quite wildly. "... What's with the smir-AH!" Naruto began, the blond's question interrupted as Kiba suddenly pulled him along, the dog boy smirking as he looked back at Naruto.

"Go no further blondy, I'll show ya how to celebrate Halloween the only way I know how!" Kiba shouted with a wink down to Akamaru, the small dog as excited as his master, barking emphatically as he ran beside the two Genin. Eventually, Kiba, Naruto and Akamaru came upon a small house several blocks down the street, Kiba smirking as Naruto just stared at the small home.

"You're lucky you ran into us Naruto, Akamaru and I always come by this house every Halloween for a bit of fun." Kiba said with a slow laugh, before Naruto could inquire as to what kind of fun Kiba meant, the Inuzuka pulled out a few carton of eggs. Kiba tossed one of these cartons over to Naruto, and another one to Akamaru, the Uzumaki looking at his carton with a bit of a confused look.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with these?" The blond asked, Kiba merely laughing to himself as he opened his carton.

"You really are new to this aren't ya?" Kiba said as he pulled out an egg. "Ya throw the damn things!" The trouble making dog boy shouted as he began throwing the eggs at the house, Naruto's eyes widening a bit as he watched his fellow Genin throw the eggs. Naruto then looked down at Akamaru, who managed toss the eggs over at the house by putting his nose under an egg, tossing it up into the air, jumping up, and then hitting it towards the house with his tail.

Naruto looked down at his carton of eggs, shrugging as he pulled out one egg, and then tossed it at the house. Naruto's eyes winced as the egg splattered on the door of the house... before Naruto laughed.

"Hey, this is pretty fun!" Naruto exclaimed as he picked out and threw another egg, and then another, Kiba laughing as Naruto joined in on the fun.

"That's the spirit!" Kiba said in a jovial manner, as the trio continued to pelt the house with eggs. After a few minutes, the door swung open, an old man with a walker slowly coming out from the house.

"You damn kids! Every year!" The old man shouted, Kiba laughing as he stuck his tongue out at the old man.

"Run!" Kiba screamed as the three immediately began running off, Naruto and Kiba laughing while Akamaru merely barked happily.

"Man, that was awesome!" Naruto shouted as the three got ready to make a turn, Kiba nodding as he howled with laughter.

"Just wait till the next house, they just keep getting better and better." Kiba said as Naruto nodded, the three pranksters turning a corner... only for them to run right on top of sticky paper. Kiba to end up flat on his face, Akamaru stuck in place, and Naruto with his feet stuck, just barely avoiding Kiba's face-down position. "What the hell?" Kiba strained to say as he tried to pull his face off of the paper, only to end up right up against it again.

"Ummm... is this part of the fun?" Naruto asked as he tried to pull his feet off of sticky paper, Akamaru barking nervously as he tried to pull his paws off of the paper.

"Ha, I caught you little bastards! Just wait till I get over there!" The three heard the old man shout, the three captured pranksters sweat dropping as they pulled even harder and harder.

"Damn that old man!" Kiba shouted as he tried to pull any part of himself off of the sticky paper, only ending up hurting himself, same for Akamaru. Naruto, on the other hand, managed to pull himself right out of his shoes, managing to use the shoes as a jumping point to avoid the rest of the sticky paper. Before Naruto could even begin to celebrate, the sound of the old man's walker hitting the ground became ever nearer, Naruto sweat dropping as he looked back at Kiba and Akamaru.

"Well, what're ya waiting for, get out of here!" Kiba shouted from his stuck position, Naruto nodding as he immediately ran off, Kiba continuing to try and pull himself off of the sticky paper as the old man came around the corner, smirking wistfully as he pulled out his own carton of eggs.

"Hehehehehehehehehe....." The old man cackled as Akamaru and Kiba sweat dropped, the Genin muttering a curse under his breath as he and his dog were mercilessly pelted with eggs.

Naruto, in the meantime, just kept right on running and wasn't stopping, taking deep breaths as he didn't look back to see if the old man was still trying to follow him.

"Well... Kiba's Halloween is a bust!" Naruto shouted as he continued running for several minutes, the thief-costumed blond stopping soon after he was convinced he was safe. Naruto took a few deep breaths as he tried to steady himself, before suddenly hearing a loud groan coming from his right.

"Troublesome... you're dressing up for it too?" Naruto heard as he blinked, the blond turning to see Shikamaru and Chouji sitting on a bench to his right, neither of the two dressed up in any sort of costume, though Chouji did seem to be quite actively munching down on a lot of candy.

"Yo Shikamaru, Chouji." Naruto said with a small wave, blinking as he looked at the two of them. "Why wouldn't I be dressed up? That's kind of the point of the holiday isn't it?" Naruto asked, Shikamaru sighing as the bored Nara shook his head.

"It is, but that's the point... Halloween is just troublesome, all the energy put into costumes just to get a few pieces of candy... troublesome." Shikamaru said as he scratched the back of his head, Chouji just laughing to himself as he waved to Naruto.

"Ah, don't mind him, he's just upset with the holiday cause last year some guy in a scarecrow outfit gave him porn instead of candy." The chubby boy said with a bit laugh, Shikamaru's head snapping towards Chouji as the Nara gave him a bit of an annoyed look.

"Chouji, I said to never mention that again!" Shikamaru shouted at his long time friend, the Akimichi merely popping in some more candy as he laughed. Naruto, in the meantime, sweat dropped, it didn't take a genius to know that Kakashi's story and Shikamaru's story lined up. The young blond could barely hold in his laughter, the idea of Shikamaru's mom banning Kakashi from Halloween being hilariously ludicrous... Naruto, of course, having never met the Nara mother. After a small back and forth between Shikamaru and Chouji, the disgruntled Nara turned back towards Naruto.

"Whatever, point is that now I don't exactly have holiday spirit..." Shikamaru said in a blunt matter, Chouji shrugging as he kept eating his candy. Naruto, having gotten his fill of mirth over the situation, decided to get a move on, the lazy Nara obviously having no plans, and Chouji seemed content to just hang with his friend for Halloween. Not exactly Naruto's idea of an exciting holiday.

"Alright, well, you two... don't get emotionally scarred again." Naruto said as he burst out laughing, Shikamaru merely growling at the young blond, Chouji waving his goodbye to the rushed blond, whom walked off as soon as the two responded. After getting a small distance away from the two, Naruto began scratching his head, the blond stuck on what to do next for the holiday.

"No offense to Shikamaru or Chouji, but I'd rather not just sit around and do nothin'." The Street Fox commented, putting his hands into his pockets. "Kiba's... well, it was fun for a while, but then we nearly got caught, which sucked..." Naruto said aloud as he prepared to round a corner. "Still, I'm wonder what else there could be to this holiday..." Naruto wondered as he walked right around the corner.

Unfortunately for Naruto, it seemed that his trouble with corners today just wasn't going to end. After having walked onto the new street, Naruto came face to face with a giant, walking mass of bugs, the ominous gathering of tiny insects buzzing in their collective, with shallow pits to make at least the appearance of eyes and a mouth on the mass evident. Naruto's reaction was a bit slow, at first the blond merely stared at the giant mesh of insects, his skin paling considerably as the gruesome monster in front of his just buzzed.

Of course, this state of frozen panic wasn't meant to last, as Naruto let loose a blood curdling scream, jumping buzz half a dozen yards from the mass of bugs, his arms covering his head, as if trying to keep the blond from screaming it off.

"DON'T EAT ME PLEASE! I DON'T TASTE GOOD!" The blond screamed loudly, the mass of bugs just standing there, tilting its head to the side. Before Naruto could go about making an even bigger fool of himself, the mass of bugs suddenly spoke, the voice somewhat distorted.

"You know, its not polite to scream at people." The bug mass said in a droning voice, Naruto blinking as he slowly turned his head towards the collective of bugs, his eyes staring at the monster, recognizing the voice.

"Sh-Sh-Shino?" Naruto asked in an unbelieving manner, the bug mass merely nodding as the insects began to pull away from the head area, Shino's face making an appearance amidst the bugs, his face somewhat marred by bug bites. Naruto, upon seeing Shino's face, immediately let loose a great sigh of relief. "Holy shit... Shino, what the fuck are you doing?! You nearly scared me to death!" Naruto's relief quickly gave way to anger and embarrassment at his fear, Shino merely shrugging, the glasses he normally wore still on.

"I suppose this means you've never been out and about on Halloween, we're actually a rather common sight." Shino began explaining, Naruto giving Shino a questioning look upon hearing the word 'we're'. "My family does this every Halloween as a part of a control building exercise." Shino said, pointing at the bug bites on his skin. "The kikaichu insects remain inside of us Aburame so that they can more directly feed off of our chakra supplies without damaging our bodies. Every Halloween its been Aburame tradition to carry the insects on the skin of your body. The exercise is to keep enough control over them to keep them from going at your skin for its chakra... if you don't, well... there's always the hospital." Shino said as Naruto sweat dropped.

"Jeez... you guys even take fun seriously." The still scared blond said with a shake of his head, Shino shrugging his shoulders. "Why do you all walk around for everyone to see you then?"

"Simple: reactions like yours are very much welcome every now and then." Shino said in a bit of a sardonic manner, Naruto's left eye merely twitching as he huffed. The reaction earned another shrug from the young Aburame, who's face quickly became distorted by a mass of insects again. "Well... Happy Halloween, Uzumaki." Shino's distorted voice came through the mass of insects, Shino once again beginning to walk around as Naruto just walked away from the bug-user, still a little more than pissed that he was so easily frightened.

Of course, Naruto's rather pissed off attitude distracted him from where he was going, causing the blond to walk right into the woods. After a few more minutes of ranting to himself, Naruto finally noticed his predicament, staring blankly at the empty woods while swallowing a lump in his throat. Now, normally the hunting blond wouldn't be so worried, after all, he was sure he had been in all of sections of the woods surrounding Konoha at least once. Problem was that Naruto, this time, had paid no attention to where he was walking, effectively having just plopped right into the middle of the woods with no way of knowing what he had done to get there in the first place.

Naruto, for a few moments, merely looked around, before long noticing a little light out deeper into the woods. Though suspicious, Naruto couldn't turn down light at the end of a dark forest. The blond slowly made his way towards the light, as he approached he began to make out the shape of a whole lot of other people gathered around the camp fire. As he got even closer, he began to hear murmurs and whispers, as well as gasps and the occasional yell.

"... and that's how it went..." Naruto fully made out, along with a small round of clapping. The Street Fox's eyebrows raised as he made his way through the thick woods into a small clearing, in the middle of the clearing the light, a campfire, shined bright. The light illuminated the figures, Naruto's eyes widening as he saw several, young Hyuga eyes looking over at him.

"Ah, Naruto-san, wasn't expecting to see you all the way out here this Halloween..." A voice from the crowd said, Naruto looking around to see Neji and Hinata sitting beside each other, the young girl blushing as she looked over at Naruto.

"Hey, Neji, Hinata!" Naruto shouted, waving over... as he noticed the looks he was getting from all the young Hyuga. "... What're so many of you doing out here?" Naruto asked as Neji sighed, pointing over to an empty spot on the grass that Naruto could sit on.

"Its a small tradition amongst the younger members of the clan. We all leave the compound and come to an excluded area to tell tall tales of horror... its a nice way to get away from older members of the clan, whom are... well, they don't exactly view this holiday as much of a holiday." Neji explained as he crossed his arms, Naruto blinking as he took a seat. "This was we're not likely to be spotted in town, and we get to have our own bit of fun." Neji explained as Naruto smirked.

"Sounds pretty sneaky of you all, I like it." Naruto said with a small laugh, Neji returning Naruto's laugh with a smirk.

"Indeed, it is very sneaky." Neji said with a bit of a laugh. "In fact, its quite nice of you to join us... it was my turn to tell a story." The usually stoic Hyuga said as he stood up, Hinata's face visibly paling as she pressed her fingers together.

"Ne-Ne-Neji's stories are... normally quite frightening..." Hinata said aloud, as if to warn Naruto, whom merely waved it off.

"Eh, I walked into a giant bug guy earlier, how bad can this be?" Naruto said as Hinata, and the rest of the Hyuga young gathered there, blinked, Neji coughing into his fist to gather everyone's attention.

"Naruto, like I said, I'm the one telling the tale here." Neji said, cracking his neck a bit as everyone settled in for Neji's tale. "As we all know, the current way the Hyuga handle the issue of the Byakugan is to brand the Branch Members, and then use them as cannon fodder... the Byakugan eyes, working at least, never leave the clan." Neji opened up, Naruto confused by this, having never heard about it, but continued listening nonetheless.

"But, this was different a long time ago... before us, before our parents, before the Hyuga clan came to Konoha... before there was even a Konoha." Neji continued, trying to build up his story. "Back then, the eyes of a dead Hyuga were ripped from their skull and destroyed... back then the weaker Hyuga were picked out and had their eyes removed for good measure... back then, the clan was much more brutal in keeping the secrets of its power..." A small resounding sound of lumps in throats being swallowed was heard.

"This practice was ended one bloody night, much like tonight... on that night, a Hyuga by the name of Higurashi, was just scouting out territory belonging to a hostile clan, trying to make sure his relatives would not be caught off guard in the case of an attack. Higurashi, his Byakugan quite weak, could not see far enough to know that three ninja were slowly approaching him... slowly creeping up on the poor little Hyuga..." Neji slowly tilted forward, a nasty grin appearing on his face as the campfire flickered.

"As Higurashi called that the way was clear, the three ninja leaped upon Higurashi and began tearing into him, much like a wolf tearing into the side of a deer, the poor man was just blind-sided by the sudden attack. The ninja were merciless, they slit his throat, they stabbed him in the heart... they cut straight through his stomach, his insides spilling out onto the cold, cold ground..." Neji said in a low growl, the young Hyuga gasping as Naruto's knees began knocking.

"The rest of the clan hurriedly rushed to try to save Higurashi, managing to chase off the three ninja before they could take his eyes... but, it was all for not. Higurashi died long before his family could save him. The loss was felt... but a duty needed to be done. So the members of the clan began pulling at Higurashi's eyes, and pulled hard... only to find that the eyes weren't coming out. The Hyuga gathered were concerned, so they pulled hard, and harder still. Yet those eyes would not tear themselves from Higurashi's head. Finally, the strongest Hyuga there came up to Higurashi's corpse, and with gave Higurashi's eyes a mighty pull... in the process... tearing of Higurashi's head from his body......" Neji slowly whispered out the last part, the collective faces of those gather paling as they listened.

"The wound to his neck must have weakened the hold his neck had to his body, the Hyuga gathered reason, as then, only after the head was removed from the body, did the eyes' nerved suddenly tear, Higurashi's head rolling on the ground, eyeless, lifeless. The clan, having done this more than once, merely shrugged off the strange event, and continued on, leaving Higurashi's body there to be scavenged..." Neji slowly smirked as he looked up.

"The three ninja returned to the scene, trying to see what they could find, what they could get... and it is said that the three ninja found nothing but a pool of blood where Higurashi's corpse had been." The story-teller said slowly, a collective gasp uttered from the young Hyuga. "Several times since then has a man many Hyuga claim to have been Higurashi been spotted... they say he comes to them, his internal organs barely hanging out of a stitched stomach, his chest constantly squirting blood, as his undead heart beats it out of the stab wound... his head hanging from his belt, the eyeless sockets, despite being unable to see you... still seemingly looking into your soul..."

"They say the head can talk... but it only ever utters four words... 'I want my eyes....'" Neji whispered out the words, everyone there slowly leaning in to hear what Neji was saying. "They say that Higurashi commits the same atrocity to Hyuga he catches that was committed to him: he tears their eyes out of their sockets, desperately trying to find a pair that matches his... hoping beyond hope that he can regain his sight... you know... they say that he followed the clan here to Konoha... they say he's been seen in these very woods..." Neji slowly but surely said, everyone slowly sweating as they listened to Neji's tale.

"And they say... if you listen closely... in the wind's howl... you can hear Higurashi... slowly stumbling, wandering around... muttering-"

"**I WANT MY EYES!** " A bestial roar came from the bushes as the undead figure Neji described leaped out from them, the roar coming from the hanging head of Higurashi as a loud scream echoed from the Hyuga... and an even louder one from Naruto.

"HOLY SHIT ITS A ZOMBIE!" Naruto screamed as the blond's 'flight or fight' reaction kicked in, the former thief immediately busting his rear end trying to get the hell out of there as he right out of the clearing and back into the woods. The younger Hyuga remained behind, still screaming as Higurashi shambled towards them... before beginning to laugh. The laughter of the zombie was quickly picked up by Neji, the story teller laughing and laughing and laughing along with the zombie, as Higurashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Replacing Higurashi was Neji's two teammates, Tenten and Lee, the latter of which was on his hands and knees, busting a gut, while the former was just laughing as loud as she could.

"Hey, you tricked us!" One of the young Hyuga suddenly shouted, Neji whipping a tear from his eye as he shrugged.

"What can I say, it is Halloween." Neji said, as he looked over at his cousin... Hinata passed out on the ground, the poor girl having feinted from the sudden shock. "Though, maybe it was too good of a trick." Neji commented as he looked up to where Naruto ran off.

"Worth it." Both his teammates said through their laughter, the group calming down as the fear and panic subsided.

Though, it never subsided for Naruto, as the poor blond ran all the way through the woods till he came out of the other side, near Konoha. He ran and he ran and he ran until he got all the way back to his hideout. The blond quickly dived in, and prepared as many traps as possible, not risking Higurashi's blindness mistaking him for a Hyuga.

Of course, Naruto would later learn from Neji and the others that it was all a trick, that it was just an elaborate scare, and that Naruto, by walking into the Hyuga's group, just got caught up in it.

Naruto wasn't exactly thrilled by the fact that he had been scared, nearly to death, and then was forced to stay up all night as he awaited the arrival of a mad, eye-stealing zombie. Still, in the end, Naruto saw the fun in it... and though he didn't get any candy, and actually spent most of the holiday either scared or just chatting, the blond would have to admit that it was a nice time...

Though, the blond was intent on actually scaring other people the next time Halloween rolled along... pray for the citizens of Konoha next time Halloween rolls around....

R&R


	22. Chapter 21

Naruto Alone

Alright folks, Arganaut here to present to you the next installment of Naruto: Alone! First off, allow me to thank you all for having pushed me over the 1,000 mark for reviews. Really, all of you who have taken time out of your day to not only read this story, but give me your thoughts on it, both constructive and congratulatory, are the ones responsible for this, and for that I applaud and thank you, and hope that my plans and plots can continue to titillate and interest you. From the very bottom of my heart, thanks to you all.

Anyway, speaking of reviews, here are the responses, as always if I didn't respond to your specific review, its either because a question was not asked, or if it was, it was answered in a different review.

**VFSnake-** He's hanging in there, but now that he's been caught, and now has two persons knowing of his crimes, he's not going to be there for long, hopefully.

Vallavarayan- Yeah, it kind of does doesn't it. Huh, didn't think about that. Anyway, Hinata and Naruto'll have their moment over this in due time, for now its time for Wave.

weixuan 18- It was Naruto, and he's really just stealing anything that'll give him a rush in the process.

Doctor Yami- She went to Kakashi mostly because he was Naruto's sensei then and now. He's the person who's going to be around the most often, and really, the only person who wouldn't be too busy (Iruka with the Academy) to help Naruto out.

firelordeg- Oh, okay.

KaliAnn- Thanks for the compliments, and I agree. Kakashi'll get to it soon enough.

justanotherguyathiscomputer- Hehehehehehehe...

ShadowFaux- Thanks. As to the song suggestion, I can't really make a song omake out of a song who's lyrics are just 'Inspector Gadget' and 'woohoo'.

c3xv-011- - Don't worry about it, it'll all come to you in time. Hell, look at me, it took me years to get the point where I'm writing like I am now. Just takes time and practice.

farticus3000- Never saw the movie, though I recognized the song. The song actually was already a cover for a classic rock song: 'I Wanna Rock'. As for the suggestion, the movie's cover of the original song wasn't even that good, and I'd rather not touch upon a piece of rock history.

**Paintball-Gamer- **Thanks man, glad to hear that you liked the chapter. I'm sure you'll enjoy this next one just as much, or at the very least, I hope you will.

**Dragon Man 180- **His hideout.

Chronostorm- Well, it really wasn't on his own. Like I explained, Kakashi's training has been not only helping him, but all of them. But I do see your point.

ShineX- Welcome aboard.

soundless steps- You're quite right, the mistakes in the seal pattern did result in the creation of the Spark Grenade. As for the suggestion, you'll see how I round it all out.

The Epitome of Eccentricity- Thanks, and welcome to the fic.

**FictionReader98- **Same to you my friend, very glad you enjoyed the chapter. And all I can say on future plans here are that you'll just have to wait and see how things go, and how I deliver them.

Shinichi06- Thanks, that was what I was going for.

VampyreVixen16- Actually, the idea for the jutsu came from inFamous, but I gave it to him primarily because he is a Lightning Specialized Chakra user, and because I have different fighting plans for Naruto as time goes along. Anyway, good to see you again, was wondering where ya popped off to.

Alright, all the reviews are out of the way, its time for the chapter to begin. I know I've had you all waiting for a while now, so let's dig into the beginning of the Wave Arc with this the next chapter of Naruto: Alone.

Chapter 21: New Mission: To The Land of Wave!

Last Time on Naruto Alone:

"_Indeed. Now... go get Sasuke and Sakura, mission time." Kakashi said, Naruto only nodding as he ran off to his two teammates. Kakashi just stood there for a moment, before slapping his hand onto his face. "Ugh... sensei would've been so much better at this...." Kakashi said, shaking his head as he sighed._

"_Oh well.... I'll get another chance to talk to him soon enough..." The silver-haired Jounin sighed, shaking his head as he looked up at his students... the full weight of being a teacher finally reaching the man's shoulders._

And Now For Our Feature Presentation

---------- The Mission Office ----- Twenty-Five Minutes Later ---------

For Sarutobi, the job as Hokage came with some of the most endearing and personal rewards a man could ever receive. The honor of protecting his home, the pride of being looked upon by the citizens of his village as a man of great respect and dignity, and of course, for him personally, the access to boundless information and knowledge that few others could even deem imaginable.

Of course, all these bright spots came with pay-backs and blights. If Sarutobi had to pick out the worst, it would've been the paperwork that, even at this very moment, was covering his desk back at his office. However, the old man would admit, his hours at the mission office came at a very, very close second.

The job, quite simply, could become very tedious in a very short amount of time, especially during the time of peace Konoha found itself in. Most of the time he found himself either handing out D-Rank missions to Genin just on their way, or C-Rank missions to newly inaugurated Chunin (or deserving Genin) whom would need more advanced work that was also, relatively, safe. B-Rank missions were rare, A-Rank even more so... and the last S-Rank missions that were given out by him were given out in the wake of the Kyubi attack twelve years ago. Sarutobi, while thankful for the peace, still found it hard to keep himself from rapping his fingers across the wooden desk he was currently sitting at.

Compounding this tedium was the fact that the job, as it was now, basically turned Sarutobi from Hokage to glorified cashier. Really, what more was there to this than taking someone's money, handing them over ninja to use, and then at the end of that mission paying the ninja for having done their service? The answer was that there was no more to it than that: Sarutobi's 'job' for several hours on straight would be to just sit in that hard, wooden chair, just sitting and waiting for people to stop by with mission requests, or for ninja to return from the missions.

Had Sarutobi not been allowed to take relief in the sweet tobacco he was currently smoking, the man was quite sure he'd go insane. Of course, misery loves company, which was why the aged Hokage was also thankful that he would often be joined by various Chunin from time to time. Some were more fun than others, with some relieving the boredom of the job... others making it much worse, or pushing it to the point where even tobacco couldn't keep Sarutobi's mind from spinning.

Fortunately, the Chunin joining him this time was Iruka Umino, a nice young lad whom he had frequently spoken with and met when the young man became orphaned. The Academy Teacher seemed to be keeping himself busy by filing away mission reports... mission reports that would eventually find their way to Sarutobi's desk back in his office. Sarutobi sighed as he tossed more tobacco into his pipe, producing a match to light it soon afterward.

"How long has it been so far Iruka?" The aged Kage asked as he took a long drag on his pipe, the Chunin merely averting his eyes for a moment to look outside before shrugging.

"I'd say an hour, maybe two." Iruka said in an idle manner, Sarutobi nearly choking on his pipe upon hearing that he had only been in this place for so short a period of time. Iruka couldn't help but chuckle at the old man. "If we're lucky maybe some of the more... excitable teams will start rolling in soon, that always makes time fly." The Chunin said with a small smile, Sarutobi looking over at Iruka, a small grin of his own forming.

"Right." The old man said quite shortly as he took another drag on his pipe. Most of the day teams of Genin, Chunin and Jonin would just waltz in, take their missions and go, with only a question or two extending their stay. However, there were a few teams whom actually would present some form of entertainment to brighten Sarutobi's stay in the mission office. The two just sat quietly for a moment when suddenly the door opened, both looking up and smiling as Iruka leaned over.

"Speak of devils and they will appear..." Iruka whispered over to Sarutobi as none other than Team 7 entered the office. Naruto, as always, was the first into the room, the grin that was normally present on his face much more exuberant than normal. Sakura and Sasuke looked as worn down as ever, both Genin entering the office with shoulders somewhat slumped and beads of sweat still on their foreheads. Kakashi followed in last, looking much more distracted than normal, with his head so deeply buried into his book that only his hair was visible around the smut.

"Well well, was wondering when you all would arrive." Sarutobi said with a small smile, taking one last drag on his pipe before setting it to the side. Naruto, the only member of his team fully aware of the situation, just smirked at the old man as he put his hands to his side.

"Well wonder no longer old man." Naruto replied with a laugh, Iruka sighing as he placed a hand on his head, the Chunin still somewhat embarrassed by Naruto's none too endearing nickname for the Hokage. Still, even after the nickname was once again fired off, Sarutobi's improved mood remained. "So, what do you have lined up for us today?" Naruto asked, as he did every day when he came in, and just like every other day, Sarutobi noticed a small amount of dread just underneath the surface of the boy's demeanor, which was far more noticeable in the bored expression on the Uchiha's face, and the hidden annoyance he could see twinkle in the Haruno's eyes.

"Straight to the point as always, eh Naruto?" Sarutobi asked with a chuckle as he pulled out a few mission dossiers that had been brought in that morning. Sarutobi shuffled through the scrolls, his old eyes quickly going over their ranks and titles.

"The sooner these are done the sooner I don't have to be doing something dull like fixing a rocking chair, or cleaning some clothes.... or working at the cattle ranch..." Naruto said as he shuddered at the mere memory: the Genin still convinced that the cow had decided to give birth just as Naruto would've been the only one around to help out. The old man merely chuckled as he listened to Naruto; as funny as he found the stories Genin would bring back from their D-Rank missions, he couldn't help but agree.

The missions did seem... a tad odd for ninja to be doing. Though, as Hokage, Sarutobi got to take a close look at Konoha's books... and in times of peace where high paying missions were rare, beggars couldn't be choosers. If people were willing to pay Genin to do household chores they either couldn't do or dreaded doing, then he wouldn't very well turn them down.

Still, Kakashi's reports on Team 7 had been unusually bright: the team's performance in training sessions and on missions were good, if emphasizing the room for improvement. As Sarutobi's hand glided over a mission scroll that had been turned in just this morning... it was a guarding mission, with the buyer requesting two teams of Genin to escort him to the Land of Wave, and protect him until he could finish a construction project...

As strange as he found the criteria for which teams to send, Sarutobi couldn't very well argue with a man whom had the money to pay for this mission. With the first team already having been picked and informed... Sarutobi began to wonder if this team would make for a good second.

"So, Naruto, you really find all of these missions to be that dreadful?" Sarutobi asked offhandedly, his hand grasping the scroll and pulling up on it, the blond ninja shrugging.

"Don't get me wrong, the pay's nice, but... this isn't exactly what I had in mind when I signed up for this." Naruto replied, Sarutobi nodding, before Naruto continued. "I mean, we all think so. Sasuke and Sakura can barely keep themselves from cus-" Naruto couldn't continue his comment, for as soon as he mentioned his two teammates, both the dark-haired Uchiha and the pink-haired Haruno slapped their hands over Naruto's mouth, a duet of 'Shut up!' muttered underneath their breaths as they tried to silence the blond blabber mouth. Iruka, whom was sweating bullets over Naruto's statement, looked over to the Sandaime, who merely raised his eyebrow..

"Oh really, well, Uchiha-san, Haruno-san, why not tell me about this apparent dissatisfaction over the D-Rank missions?" Sarutobi inquired, his grip on the C-Rank scroll grew steadily tighter, and he prepared to lay it on the desk. Sasuke and Sakura looked nearly as nervous as Iruka, while looking back to Kakashi, who still had his damn head buried in the book. With no possible route of escape or distraction, or, seemingly, even Kakashi ready to step in to bail them out, the two decided to just follow the idiot blond's lead and speak their mind.

"With as much respect as possible Hokage-sama, I agree with the dobe." Sasuke began, a low mutter coming from Naruto's still covered mouth. "We're ninja, not servants, and it's wasting our training and talents to be treated as such." Sasuke finished off his statement, Sarutobi merely nodding somewhat to himself. Of course, Sasuke being an Uchiha, the young boy would have his pride rather prone to being insulted by being demoted to 'servant', so he was no surprise to Sarutobi. Still, his point was valid.

With Sasuke done, everyone looked over to Sakura for her piece of mind, the pink-haired girl seeming flustered. The girl seemed to stumble all over her sentences.

"Well, sir, you see... my feelings on the missions... well, they're... umm... no disrespect but... well..." Everyone just stood and stared at her while she tried to formulate some form of sentence. Soon enough, Sakura just sighed and drooped her shoulders in defeat, as she looked up with a sheepish expression. "Hokage-sama.... the missions suck...." At that point, everyone in the room slammed their face into the nearest surface available to them, the bluntness of the Haruno's statement.

Sarutobi was the first to lift his face from the desk, laughing a little as he did. This really had been the first block of Genin who, all together, had been so willing to sing what must've been many Genins' complaints with the D-Rank mission system.

"Well." Sarutobi began, coughing into his fist. "Perhaps then I have something to remedy these feelings..." Sarutobi began, Kakashi finally glancing up from his book. Sarutobi, at that moment, lifted the scroll to put it in Kakashi's line of sight, allowing the Jounin to clearly see the label on the scroll: a large C. The silver-haired Jounin blinked a few times upon seeing the mission's rank, and admittedly he was rather surprised: usually C-Rank missions aren't given out to Genin teams for several months after they've become ninja, and even then its hardly done too seriously. Hell, the main idea behind it is to quickly sober up Genin to the life of a ninja, so that their complaints of the easier D-Rank missions wouldn't be quite as frequent or passionate.

There would be times where the team would get through the mission with flying colors, and would go on to ask for more in the future... a result Kakashi could see rather easily happening with his team. Though... perhaps that was a point within itself. His team, in his view, could be quite capable of handling a C-Rank mission... maybe it could prove a good test for them. Besides, if they did somehow manage to get into trouble, he would be there to bail them out, so it was not as if they didn't have a safety net.

'Not to mention...' Kakashi began to think, glancing over at his blond pupil. 'C-Rank missions usually take a few days to accomplish... might give me enough time to figure out how to talk with sticky-fingers here...' With that thought, Kakashi had managed to convince himself. The cycloptic ninja returned Sarutobi's glance and giving the older man a small nod, Sarutobi smiling as he put the scroll on the table.

"Well then, perhaps this will be more in line with what you all had in mind." Sarutobi said with a small smile, as the three Genin allowed their eyes to rest on the C-Rank scroll in front of Sarutobi Of course, the look of surprise on the three Genin's faces was quite hilarious to Sarutobi, as the mix of surprise and glee, or mild approval on Sasuke's, tickled the old man's spirit. Iruka's own eyes laid quite carefully on the scroll, the Academy teacher's concern for his former students peaking.

"Hokage-sama, are you sure about this? They are very fresh Genin, and... well, maybe it'd be better for them to wait longer, get more experience." Iruka said in a matter akin to imploring, the Genin of Team 7 looking at him with an expression that begged him not to change the Kage's mind. Quite fortunately, in their eyes, Sarutobi only shrugged his shoulders lightly before addressing Iruka's concern.

"Under other circumstances Iruka, I'd agree. However, as Kakashi would attest to, this particular team has shown some... particularly interesting growth, not normally associated with the average team, even ones whom would be considered seasoned." The aged Kage said, choosing each of his words carefully. "Besides, Kakashi himself would be going with them, so they'd be in safe hands... unless you find his hands unsuited?" Sarutobi, begging the question, looked over at Iruka, whom merely frowned a bit, realizing that he had been put into a bit of a corner by the Hokage.

"No... I guess." Iruka responded, sighing the last part as he nodded. "Alright, I see your point, and you are the Hokage here." Iruka conceded his worries, the Genin of Team 7 smiling quite brightly as Sarutobi nodded, tossing the scroll over to Kakashi.

"Indeed I am." The Sandaime said with a small smile, before turning his attention to the smiling Genin. "Now then, let us introduce you to your client." Sarutobi said, Iruka taking the hint to get up and head over to the door. Kakashi stood to the side as his students turned to look over, awaiting the face of their clients. In Naruto's head he was already expecting some grand noble, someone who's payout for the mission would be as grand as his estate. Sakura and Sasuke, while their expectations were not as fantastic and grand in scale as Naruto's, were still equally as anxious to meet their client.

Sasuke's thoughts were quite tame, at least in comparison to his teammates, thinking that at the very most the person requesting the mission was some merchant afraid of a few highwaymen. Naruto's mind had already gone of on tangents of the rich and the... well, rich. His mind ran scenes of a wealthy noble asking for protection from great barbarians, and once the mission was completed, would award the young rogue with a sack filled with gold coins. Though, Naruto's daydreaming was nearly outpaced by Sakura's, whom imagined a mission where she would impress Sasuke enough to go out on a date with her, ignoring any thoughts of whom they might be working for.

However, all daydreams come to an end, and these particular thoughts came to a crashing for the three when a dirty old man, wearing a grey-green shirt with the sleeves cut off, a dirty pair of pants, sandals with the souls completely warn, a beard that had who knows what in it, and breath that smelled he had been dunked into a twenty-gallon drum of saki a half-dozen times: a smell attributed by the huge jug of booze the man was carrying around, along with a pack on his back.

'Oh boy, somebody's been drinking...' Kakashi thought to himself, though his face betrayed no emotion of possible worry over their client... his Genin, on the other hand, weren't so restrained. Both Naruto and Sakura had looks of complete and utter disappointment written all over them, whilst their Uchiha comrade, while not nearly as distraught as his teammates, did betray a bit of frustration on his face: after all, even though he hadn't even been as outlandish as either of his teammates, this guy still managed to go below his more normal expectation for a client, an accomplishment if there ever was one.

"Ehhh, you, the guy with the eye..." The old, drunk man said in a slurred tone. "Tell these little brats to stop gawking at me like that, they're pissin' me off." He quickly followed up, causing the Genin of Team 7 to just continue to stare at their 'employer', while Kakashi just put his hand to his forehead.

"This is Tazuna-san, an engineer and construction worker from the Land of Wave, where you'll escort him to, and then guard them until his upcoming project is complete." Sarutobi quickly jumped in, trying to avoid the incoming fight... unfortunately, Tazuna wasn't willing to oblige.

"Can't believe that these'r the bunch of brat who're s'posed to be protecting me? This bunch's worse than the last batch." The construction worker complained as he took a swig from his jug, Kakashi forcibly holding Naruto by the collar, lest he move forward to clobber their employer.

"Wait, last batch?" Kakashi, being the only member of Team 7 who wasn't particularly frustrated or enraged by Tazuna, asked as he looked back at Sarutobi, who merely nodded as Iruka jumped in.

"Indeed: Tazuna-san came in requesting two Genin teams for the mission. The other team left to prepare just a while before you all arrived." The Chunin said, as Tazuna scoffed, interrupting further conversation or questions.

"Didn't think ninja standards had gotten this low..." Tazuna said as all three Genin had veins, throbbing upon their foreheads. "I mean, the freak with the whiskers, the pink-sore thumb, and the little broody brat... how much wood did you carve out while scrapping the bottom of the barrel?" The Wave Citizen said in a sarcastic, drunk manner, Kakashi growing a tad more nerved as even Sasuke and Sakura appeared ready to walk over and beat Tazuna within an inch of his life.

"Let us go Kakashi-sensei, we'll clobber him!" The 'freak with the whiskers' growled at as Kakashi shook his head.

"Tazuna-san." Kakashi began, sweat dropping as he held his Genin back. "I can assure you that these Genin are very skilled and quite exceptional." The Jounin said as he pulled Naruto all the way back to his side. "Besides, you have nothing to worry about if they get into trouble: I am a Jounin, and I will be able to handle anything they aren't." The cycloptic Jounin said with a curved eye... not seeing the small glint in Tazuna's eyes as he shrugged.

"Whatever, but you better be right, I didn't pay as much money as I did to get squat." Tazuna said with yet another swig, Team 7 relaxing a tad bit while Kakashi just shook his head a bit.

"Well, with that settled, I suggest you all get on your way: I informed the other team that you would be meeting them at the main village gates at noon, sharp." Sarutobi immediately shot a look towards Kakashi, shaking his pipe at the Jounin. "This time, don't be late." The aged Kage warned the chronically late Jounin, who merely put his hands up in a small defense.

"Alright, alright, I'll be there by noon... _ish_..." Kakashi whispered the last part under his breath, turning to his team before the Hokage could reprimand him, or before the situation between his students and their client could turn ugly again. "Alright guys, you heard Hokage-sama, meet up at the main gates at noon, and don't be late." The scarecrow said, disappearing in a plume of smoke as he did. Team 7 coughed a bit as the sudden explosion of smoke caught them off guard, Tazuna just sighing.

"Might as well get some more saki... I have a feeling I'm going to be needin' a lot of it over the course of this trip." Tazuna took one last swig of his jug, before exiting the room, the Genin sweat dropping as Sasuke began rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Great... our client's a drunk..." The Uchiha groaned as he began walking out of the room, Sakura following him soon after, the pink-haired girl seemingly as distraught as her crush. Naruto, uncharacteristically, was the last one of the Team in the room, something that caused some trepidation on the part of Sarutobi and Iruka.

"Something the matter Naruto, not quite what you imagined your first C-Rank client to be?" Iruka asked his former student, said student turning with, surprisingly to both the Chunin and the Hokage, a small grin on his face.

"Not at all, couldn't have been further from what I had hoped." The blond said, before shrugging. "Still, that doesn't mean this doesn't rock! My first C-Rank mission, I can barely believe it!" Naruto said with a wide smirk, causing Sarutobi and Iruka to smile a bit. "Hey, old man, Iruka-sensei, thanks for this! You'd better have a big old sack of gold for pay when I get back!" The blond thief said, causing Iruka and Sarutobi to sweat drop while chuckling, Naruto finally exiting the room to go get prepared.

As Iruka sat there, the Academy Teacher suddenly slapped himself on the head, looking over at the Sandime.

"Hokage-sama, we forgot to tell them who the other team was." Iruka said, Sarutobi just responding with a lighthearted chuckle.

"I don't think we have to worry Iruka... I have a feeling it will be quite the surprise." The aged Kage said as he drew in a deep breath upon his pipe, Iruka just chucking in a nervous manner..

"No doubt about that........" The Chunin said as he began to go back to filing and re-filing paperwork with Sarutobi, the day from there would, beyond a shadow of a doubt, be far less entertaining than what had just transpired.

--------- Konoha's Main Gates ----- 11:55 A.M. ---------

A lot of things can put a spring in people's steps. For some people, a good meal can uplift their mood. For others, a nice cool breeze can help cool their feelings. For Genin fresh out of the Academy, the best way to get their blood pumping is to give them a C-Rank mission. Evident was this as Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto were the first to arrive at the main gates of the village, five minutes before even their client. The three Genin stood around, every few seconds looking up to check if either their client or other Genin were showing up.

"So, who do you think the second team's going to be?" Sakura asked her teammates, both boys taking a moment to think.

"It would have to be a team that's pretty uptight about timing and scheduling... so Shikamaru's team is out of the picture." Naruto said, his team nodding as Sasuke thought.

"Its possible we'll be running into Team 8... but I don't know if their sensei would get them on a C-Rank mission yet... she seemed cautious." The Uchiha grumbled as the pink-haired kunoichi in the group threw her arms up in exasperation.

"So we'll likely be heading out with a bunch of strangers." Sakura sighed, as the blond member of the group jumped in.

"Hey, what about the others from our class?" Naruto asked as Sasuke just chortled.

"What about 'em? I really didn't care to get to know anyone, and can you honestly say you remember, or even knew, any of the others besides those six and us?" Sasuke retorted as Naruto attempted a come back... before blinking.

"... Alright, you got me there." Naruto conceded, rubbing the back of his head. Before the trio could continue their topic of conversation, Tazuna returned, hardly missing a step as he walked right up them.

"Looks like you all got here early, joy." The drunken construction worker said sarcastically as the jug of alcohol at his side swung lightly.

"Oh, sorry you're sad, because we're so happy to be hanging out with you..." Naruto said with a grunt, Sasuke and Sakura inwardly agreeing with their teammate's sarcasm, Tazuna just giving the blond a dirty look. "Oh, I'm serious, on top of having such a wonderful personality, you smell quite the treat too: the 'brewery on fire' smell is just doing wonders for you." The blond continued to poke at Tazuna, whom just narrowed his gaze at the whiskered Genin.

Just as the verbal back and forth was to begin, something off in the distance caught Naruto's eye: it was a large cloud of dust that was rapidly moving towards Team 7 and Tazuna.

"What the hell is that?" Inquired the young blond, garnering the attention of Sakura, Sasuke and Tazuna. The four looked at the cloud of dust, within moments two, small black figured could be seen at the front of the cloud, running rapidly towards the group. Then, a small sound began to make its way into the ear canals of the Genin, a bit of a high-pitched noise that they couldn't quite make out.

Whilst Naruto stood right in the middle of the road, keeping his ear out to try to figure out what the noise was, Sakura and Sasuke immediately began to feel unnerved by the approaching figures, and moved themselves out of the way, Tazuna quickly following them while leaving Naruto to whatever fate had just been pushed upon him. As the cloud and figures quickly came within about twenty yards of the blond, Naruto could finally make out what they were screaming:

"YO~UTH!!!" The proud battle cry of youth rang loudly in Naruto's ears, the young Genin momentarily stunned by the scream. That moment was all that was needed, as the figures ran right over Naruto, the cloud of dust quickly rolling over the trampled Genin. Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna looked on in horror as the dust cloud began to lift, and Naruto laid flat upon the ground, sandal marks all over his body.

Standing with their hands at their hips, and their chest jutting proudly forward were... two persons wearing matching green jumpsuits, the taller and older of which wearing a Jounin flak jacket. They both also shared a very similar bowl-hair cut, and when they turned to face each other, it was plain as day that the two had HUGE eyebrows atop his head.

"AHA! Arrived with moments to spare! Truly, Lee, our youthful flames helped push us into this great success!" The taller of the two strange ninja exclaimed as he pumped his fist into the air, his younger charge, Lee, nodding his head vigorously.

"Gai-sensei, perhaps next time we should try doing two-hundred laps in an hour, in order to further push the boundaries of our youth!" Lee exclaimed, as, Gai apparently, looked at his student with a shocked look... before smiling brightly.

"LEE! SUCH YOUTHFUL FIRES YOU SHOW! Once this mission is over, we shall attempt such a feet! If we cannot do that, then we shall attempt to do five-hundred push ups in one-minute!" Gai excitedly proclaimed, Lee getting ready to jump right back on in... before Kakashi suddenly appeared, a distraught look on his face.

"... Of all the teams..." Kakashi muttered under his breath, as Gai took notice of his rival.

"AH! Kakashi!" Gai said in a jovial tone, running up to his rival and patting him on the shoulder. "What brings you here my youthful rival?!" The taijutsu master asked, Kakashi merely removing Gai's hand from his shoulder.

"Well, for starters our teams are going to be working together protecting Tazuna..." The scarecrow Jounin began, Gai's eyes lighting up almost immediately. "Also, you ran over my student." Kakashi added, pointing at the trampled blond student of his. Gai and Lee looked down at the blond mess on the ground, and both grimaced a bit as they ran over to help Naruto up. In the same moment as Lee and Gai were lifting Naruto off the ground, two other figures, tiredly, ran up with the group.

One of the two, a young female, wore her brown hair in two buns on either side of her head, just above the band of her ninja headband. A pink, short-sleeved vest with golden straps across the front, along with a plain pair of dark slacks adorned her. The other, a young male, wore his brown hair long and somewhat loose, ending in a ponytail, his bangs covered up by his own headband. His attire was even more plain than the girl he arrived with, a plan, tan shirt with a pair of black shorts, though he had bandages tied around his right arm. Both had on standard ninja-sandals, and both had their weapons pouch tied to their thighs, as it was with most ninja.

"Sorry we're late sensei, we just needed to ca-..." The girl began, her words dying in her throat as Naruto was pulled all the way into a standing position, his whiskers prominently displayed now that they were out from the dirt road. The two arrivals and Lee fell completely silent, before Naruto suddenly found himself on the receiving end of a Rock Lee bear hug.

"Naruto-san!" Lee exclaimed through tears of youth as Naruto gasped for air, the blond's air-deprived brain still being able to recognize the voice hadn't heard in a year's time.

"L-Lee?!" Naruto gasped out in shock, looking over at the two arrivals, recognizing them almost as immediately. "N-Neji, T-Tenten..." Naruto barely had enough air to say both names, as he slowly began to turn blue.

"Lee, let him go, you're suffocating him!" Neji quickly shouted at his teammate, Lee finally looking up at Naruto and, upon seeing his eyes slowly roll into the back of his head, let go of the blond, a sheepish look on his face.

"Thanks..." Naruto said in a gasp, taking deep breaths as he stood back up, only to suddenly find himself face-to-face with Tenten, whom immediately began shaking him by the shoulders out of excitement.

"Naruto-san! It's so good to see you after all this time, I mean, how long has it been, ten months, a year, who cares, it's just good to see you again!" The weapon's master exclaimed in a very, very quick manner, Naruto's head wobbling back and forth, the possibility of whiplash none too distant.

"Its-good-to-see-you-too-now-will-you-stop-shaking-me-I'm-going-to-be-sick!" Naruto's words were sudden and forced as the blond tried to speak whilst his head was swinging so quickly. Tenten, in an embarrassed manner, let go of Naruto, the older girl blushing a bit as she scratched the back of his head. Naruto's eyes rolled around in their sockets, the blond grabbing onto his head as he tried to prevent his dizziness. The blond's eyes finally stopped rolling to see Neji walking up to him, Naruto quickly putting himself into a defensive position, ready for whatever crazed action Neji might take.

"Hello there Naruto." Neji's calm, collected voice surprised Naruto, whom only blinked as Neji smiled a bit and held out his hand. "Its good to see that you succeeded in becoming a ninja, though considering who I'm talking too, it's none too surprising." The Branch House Hyuga stated, Naruto smirking himself as he took Neji's hand to shake it.

"Heh, you got that right, after all, I was going to be a ninja no matter what, remember?" Naruto said, his ego proudly on display as his former fan club members chuckled, Tazuna, Sakura and Sasuke looking on in a bit of shock, whilst Kakashi and Gai looked on at their students.

"Ah, young friends reuniting after a long period of wait! A truly youthful and exciting event, eh Kakashi?" Gai asked his Jounin counterpart, whom merely blinked as he looked over at Gai in a bored manner.

"Did you say something?" Kakashi asked, smirking underneath his mask as the almost gut-wrenching reaction came from Gai, whom broke out into tears.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Kakashi, your cool once again deeply penetrates my spirit!!!!!" The green-spandex wearing Jounin lamented, as the other members of the group, save Lee, just sweat dropped at the man's expense. Sakura, after a few moments, finally recognized Lee, Neji and Tenten, and immediately began sweating. Of course, it wasn't long before the three Genin of Team Gai also recognized Sakura and Sasuke, the three of them blinking for a bit.

Before the two groups could more deeply engage in... conversation, Kakashi quickly jumped in.

"Alright, now that the gang is all here we should probably begin the mission." The cycloptic Jounin spoke quickly, catching the attention of the Genin. "Of course, if the six of you recall, we'll be traveling all the way to the Land of Wave, and then staying there until Tazuna is finished with his project in Wave." Kakashi began, looking over to the drunken Tazuna. "That just about covers it, correct?"

"Yeah, yeah." Tazuna grumbled out, glancing at all the gathered ninja, his eyes lingering on the Jounin. "Can we get going now, I'd rather be back home as quickly as possible..." The aged man said, readjusting his pack a bit.

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea. Everyone-" Kakashi began as he waved his hand up towards the towers on both sides of the gate, the ninja in those towers moving to open the gate. "-let's go." The silver-haired ninja said with a bit of a kick, the gates opening almost as soon as Kakashi finished his sentence. The six Genin looked at the opening gates with anticipation, their eyes opening widely as they saw the endless stretch of forest right in front of them.

The least doe-eyed of the bunch, of course, was Naruto, whom just walked right on out of the gates, whistling as he looked around.

"Heh, as often as I've been out and about in the woods, I keep forgetting that all of it is surrounded by this huge wall." Naruto said with a huge smile, taking in a deep breath of air. The other Genin followed Naruto, though they were far more stunned than the blond. For most of them, travel even within the wall was limited to a few hundred yards away from the main section of the village... and now they were actually outside of the village, not technically even in Konoha anymore.

"First time getting outside of the village is always the most exciting." Kakashi said, walking right on out the gates. "Believe me, it loses its novelty after a while." The cycloptic Jounin added, as his fellow Jounin suddenly jumped forward.

"Kakashi, you grossly underestimate the youthful energies outside the village walls!" The green-spandex clad Jounin thrust his fist into the air as he spoke. "Why, the world is filled with a passion that lifts the hearts and souls of many, and while it is undeniable that Konoha is the bright, fiery star of spring-time youth in this world, there is no denying that the entire world burns with youth and promise with just as much heat and light as Konoha's!" As Gai finished his soliloquy, Kakashi could only bury his face in his hands, shaking his head.

"... Sometimes I wonder just how sane you are..." Kakashi muttered, the silver-haired Jounin's distraught reaction not being the only one, as all the Genin just stared in a dumbfounded (and, in Neji's and Tenten's case, a completely embarrassed) manner... save for Lee, who could hardly contain his feelings of excitement caused by Gai's energetic speech. Tazuna, on the other hand, just looked on with a very distraught look etched onto his face.

"...... I'm doomed..." Tazuna muttered under his breath as he drank deeply from his jug. "Alright... let's go..." The construction worker said gravely, Kakashi nodding vigorously.

"Yes, let's." The silver-haired Jounin said quickly as he and Tazuna immediately began moving with Sasuke, Sakura, Neji, Tenten and Naruto all too happy to follow them immediately. Gai and Lee snapped out of their youthful stupor in time to follow. As the group walked, there was a slow separation into small groups. While Sasuke and Sakura were, for the most part, on their own, Naruto and the Genin of Team Gai were all together, talking with each other to catch up on lost time. Tazuna fell in just behind the Genin, while Kakashi and Gai stayed in the back, able to hand out directions when needed.

Sakura looked back at Naruto, Neji, Tenten and Lee, her face looking a tad blue as she pulled at her collar nervously.

"What's your problem?" Sasuke asked, rather suddenly, catching the pink-haired kunoichi off guard, making her jump a bit.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said, in relief, laughing a bit as she sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "What do you mean?" She tried to deflect the question, Sasuke only cocking his right eyebrow, a 'don't play dumb' look if there ever was one. Sakura's nervous chuckles died down as she looked to the side. "Well... you remember the Sasuke Uchiha Fan Club and the Street Fox Fan Club?" She asked, Sasuke looking like he was considering the question, before shaking his head.

"Not really..." The Uchiha admitted, Sakura just staring at him with a blank expression.

"Y-You don't?" The former co-head of the SUFC asked, Sasuke nodding.

"The only time I really paid attention to any of the fan club nonsense was while I was avoiding you all, while you all were trying to ask me out or something else annoying." Sasuke elaborated, Sakura face-vaulting as the verbal shot was fired, getting back up with a very embarrassed look on her face.

"R-Right..." Sakura weakly muttered, before continuing. "Well... long story short, they were in his and I was in yours... and we didn't get along... and now I'm kind of worried about... well..." Sakura stumbled around for the words, Sasuke immediately jumping in.

"You're worried that they might still be holding onto those old feelings." Sasuke said as more of a statement than a question, Sakura only able to nod in affirmation. When she did, Sasuke just sighed a bit, shaking his head. "Don't see why you're worried. If they do, they do, and if they don't, they don't. Besides, you're acting like they're actively plotting your demise as we speak." Sasuke said in a dismissive tone, Sakura looking back at them before sweat dropping.

"I guess you're right." The pink haired kunoichi said somewhat silently as they quickly moved on. Whilst this small conversation was going on, Naruto, Neji, Tenten and Lee were busy conversing themselves, the four trying to catch up on the year they had been separated.

"Man, can't believe I'm seeing all of you again, and at once too! Who'd a thought you'd be on the same team, stroke of luck huh?" Naruto said with a small grin, his question met with a vigorous nod from Lee, while Neji and Tenten seemed more apt to shrug. Before Naruto could ask, Tenten could leaned up close to the boy and began whispering.

"It can be... but between Gai-sensei and Lee.... things get a bit... oh, what's the word I want to use..." Tenten thought on it, Naruto looking back at Gai-sensei whom, at that moment, seemed to be badgering Kakashi, Naruto only able to make out the loud screams of 'youth' and 'rivalry' from the bowl-cut Jounin.

"Insane?" Naruto suggested, the weapon's master snapping her fingers.

"Yeah, that's the word!" Tenten said, as Lee jumped in quite swiftly.

"Do not take too much too heart Naruto-san, Tenten-san just does not quite grasp the concept of youth that Gai-sensei wishes to pass onto us through his training!" Lee proclaimed loudly, Tenten sighing as he placed her hand on her head.

"Oh... geez... the training... excessive is putting it lightly." The weapons kunoichi remarked as she raised her hand up. "Walking dozens of laps on your hands around the village... stand on one hand for hours on end... thousands of push-ups, hundreds upon hundreds of sit-ups... jumping across roof-tops with weights tied to us... oh, and the one-on-one practice bouts with Gai were just fantastic, let me tell you..." Tenten said with a bit of a groan.

"While I agree his... methods might be... well, are questionable, the results certainly speak for themselves." Neji, rather silent to that point, suddenly spoke, interrupting Tenten's listing off as he looked over to Naruto. "The three of us have gotten much stronger and faster since we last saw each other... in fact, I'd say that we could easily outrun you now Naruto." Neji commented, a small smirk forming on his lips as Naruto just chuckled.

"Big talk comin' from you Neji." The blond returned in a joking manner, Neji just nodding.

"What can I say, when you have the facts to back up your words, it isn't just talk." The Branch Hyuga fired back, Naruto just chuckling.

"I guess when we have some down-time, we'll just have to race..." Naruto said with a wide smile, Neji's response dying on his lips when, suddenly, Lee jumped forward.

"AH YES! A RACE BETWEEN US FOUR FRIENDS TO CHALLENGE EACH OTHERS' SPEED AND ABILITY! CERTAINLY IT IS THE MOST YOUTHFUL WAY FOR US TO TEST OUR GROWTH IN THE SPAN OF THIS YEAR!" Lee loudly shouted, Tenten shaking her head a bit, though a small smile was on her face.

"While I'm not as excited as Lee here, I think a race would be fun." Tenten said with a grin. "It'd be good to see if you're as fast as we remember you being." The weapon's mistress said in a near-teasing manner, as Naruto just chortled.

"Please: I'm not just as fast, I'm even faster now." The blond Genin brushed his thumb across his nose, the Tenten shaking her head a bit at Naruto's pride, while Neji just nodded.

"It sounds like you're training as proceeded well then: despite what I can only assume to be a rather-" Neji began, glancing over at the other members of Team 7 for a moment. "-rough set of teammates." The Hyuga finished, Tenten and Lee nodding in agreement with their teammate.

"Yeah... given all the stuff that happened at the Academy..." Tenten said, scratching the back of her head as she recalled the rather rambunctious attitudes taken by the two sides in those days. Naruto took on a thoughtful look, before shrugging his shoulders.

"Not as bad as I thought it was going to be, if you can believe it." The blond admitted, capturing the attention of the three beside him. "I mean, the first day and most of the first training session was... tense, to say the lease, but after that... we don't tend to get in each others way, and we work together... fine, I guess." Naruto reached for words as he tried to describe the situation, as Lee suddenly jumped in as he finished.

"A story for the ages! A group of people, once set against each other by feelings and beliefs irreconcilable, have put their feelings aside in the name of youth and teamwork! Truly the flames of youth radiate in all of y-" Rock Lee's monologue was ended when Tenten threw her elbow into Lee's side.

"Lee not withstanding, at least it sounds like things are better than would've been expected." Tenten said with a bit of a smile, Naruto nodding.

"Yeah, it is..." The blond said, before quickly moving onto a new tangent in the conversation. As the group continued discussing with each other the events that took place since their last meeting, the pace of everyone in general continued on at its slow pace, with Tazuna's normal speed setting the standard for the group. It was only an hour later, after much shouting on Gai's and Lee's part, and much more silent conversations on the part of everyone else, that the rather quiet tone was disrupted.

It was inconspicuous, that puddle in the middle of the road. Just sitting there, barely even rippling as the group meandered past it. While the Genin barely even noticed the small body of water just sitting there, Gai's and Kakashi's eyes flickered to the tiny pool of water, and then flickered back towards each other, a silent message going in between the two Jounin as they kept up their normal demeanor.

It hadn't rained in several days, so what was a puddle, of even such a minuscule size, doing out and about on the road. Soon enough, both Jounin's suspicions were to be confirmed, as the puddle begin to shift and twist as the group walked right on by it. The rattling of chains and the twisting of metal caught all ears as the group guarding Tazuna turned, seeing moving quickly across the terrain two Mist-Nin, connected by a chain that was attached to a gauntlet on each man, one on his left arm, the other on his right. The men wore large masks on their face, one Mist-Nin wearing a large metal face mask over the lower-half of his face, while the other wore a strange face-mask, a breathing apparatus, over top of his mouth. The rest of their bodies were concealed by large, black, torn cloaks that fluttered in the wind as they ran directly for Gai and Kakashi.

The two Jounin quickly found themselves tied together by the spiked chain, the two Mist-Nin standing on either side of the Jounin.

"Waaay closer to you than I EVER wanted to be!" Kakashi said in a bit of a disturbed tone, that momentarily disarmed the chain wielding Mist-Nin, whom were further confused by Gai's sudden eruption.

"Kakashi, these chains, though strong, can barely even compare to the chains of youthful rivalry that connect us two together! We two have a connection of chains tha-" As Gai attempted to get out the last youthful speech he would give, the two Mist-Nin pulled tightly on their chains, the spiked metal thrashing and slicing straight through the two Jounin in an instant, much to the apparent pleasure of the Mist-Nin.

"Dammit, I thought the green one would never shut up!" The Mist-Nin with the metal mask over his lower-face said in a sadistic manner, as quickly the two assassins turned their gaze upon the rest of the Genin, whom looked absolutely horrified over the gruesome end that the two Jounin met.

"Let's make sure not to give these brats a chance at last words before we slice open the old man." The opposing Mist-Nin droned out through his apparatus as they began charging for the group, Tazuna quickly backing up far behind the Genin, a terrified look on the old man's face. As the brother's chain tensed, the Genin were quickly snapped out of their stupor, as they quickly realized that if they didn't get moving, they'd soon have to be cleaned off the Mist-Nins' chain as well. The first move was actually collectively made by Naruto and Sakura, whom quickly produced a large amount of shuriken, which were promptly thrown at the Mist-Nin with the breathing apparatus.

The offensive forced the assassin to stop in his tracks to put up a proper defense against the onslaught, the sudden stop causing his brother to jerk on the chain, further tensing the already tight metal-work. Sasuke made the next move, the Genin dashing forward towards the center of the chain, lobbing a kunai right into the center-link. The Uchiha then jumped forward and kicked the butt of the kunai, the tensed metal of the chain breaking with the additional strain and pressure the metal instrument was placing on it.

With the two Mist-Nin separated, the two Genin teams began beginning their own offensives on each of the cold-blooded assassins. The metal-mask wearing Mist-Nin found himself within the line of fire of Team Gai, with Neji dashing towards the unbalanced ninja, Neji's Byakugan eyes flaring as the Mist-Nin came within striking distance. The Mist-Nin, regaining his balance as Neji closed in, tried to lash out at the Hyuga with a swipe from his claw.

Try being the key word, for as the Mist-Nin pulled back his claw in preparation for his swipe, he found his weapon bombarded by kunai, shuriken and various metal implementations, courtesy of the weapon-mistress of Team Gai, Tenten. Tenten's weapons each met their mark as every kunai and shuriken strike at one of the joints of folds in the claw, either piercing straight through into the Mist-Nin's hand, or outright dismantling sections of the weapon.

The pain from the sudden attack slowed the Mist-Nin's swipe, given Neji ample time to duck just below the attack, and deliver his own. Neji's fingers moved fluidly across the assassin's body, massive amounts of damage to the Mist-Nin's chakra circulatory system and muscles being done as the Jyuken delivered piercing blow after piercing blow of chakra. As a finish to his own assault, Neji jutted his palm towards the top of the Mist-Nin's neck, the metal mask covering his chin too well. The attack, none the less, shot the assassin's head straight up, Neji smirking as he rolled away, allowing his last teammate to deliver a the finishing blow.

"Aaaah! Leaf Hurricane!" Lee had roared as the taijutsu-expertised Genin rushed forth to the Mist-Nin, quickly delivering a crushing kick to the side of the Mist-Nin's head. The Mist assassin's eyes bugged out, as the blow from the kick rocked his skull, with even his mask beginning to fall apart from the blow of the kick. The pain of the situation wasn't helped much as the Mist-Nin ran, face first, into the trunk of one of the trees at the side of the path.

The Mist-Nin staggered about as blood began to spill lightly from his lips, Tenten slowly walking up behind the assassin as he stammered about. Tenten delivered one, quick punch to the back of the Mist-Nin's head, forcing his face right back into the tree. With a small groan, the Mist-assassin slowly slid down the trunk of the tree, before flattening out on the ground.

Meanwhile, Team 7's efforts against the other Mist-Nin were running, while not as smoothly, well. Sasuke, after having separated the chains, ran straight for the Mist-Nin with the breathing apparatus, managing to land a few hits upon the other half of the assassin pair before being forced to jump back away from the clawed foe. Sasuke's efforts continued in much the same manner, the Uchiha moving quickly around the Mist-Nin, whom would try to strike the agile little bugger with his claws.

"Stand still you little brat!" The annoyed assassin roared as he raised his claw far over head, to slam down into the Uchiha's skull, only to find his moment of anger taken advantage of by the blond Genin that had, up until that moment, remained on the sidelines of the fight. As the Mist-Nin raised his gauntlet, Naruto quickly raced behind him, and looped several rounds of ninja-wire around the Mist-Nin's wrist, before ducking down and through the assassin's legs, the wire still in his grip.

"How about you go ahead and chill for a bit?!" Naruto exclaimed as he quickly ran forward, keeping his grip on the wire tight. Before the Mist-Nin could even comprehend what had just happened, the ninja-wire around his wrist, with the force of Naruto's full speed sprint behind it, pulled the assassin's arm directly down, and behind the Mist-Nin, the force of the sudden pull and shift in position pulling the Mist-Nin's shoulder out of socket.

"Aaaah!" The yelp of pain was Sasuke's signal, as the Uchiha ran full steam at the Mist-Nin, and rather unceremoniously, slammed his fist right into the enemy ninja's throat. Choking and gasping for air, the mist-nin couldn't realize that Naruto was still pulling quite tightly on the wire, the tightness of which wasn't being helped by the assassin's backward movement as he tried to recover from Sasuke's blow. With another great pull, Naruto managed to force the Mist-Assassin right onto his back, Naruto grinding his teeth as he pulled out several more feet of ninja-wire.

"Sasuke, flip him over!" Naruto shouted as he ran for the Mist-Nin, both he and the Uchiha knowing that it would only be a matter of time before the ninja was right back up onto his feat on his own. Sasuke obliged, forcing the Mist-Ninja onto his stomach, barely dodging a rather meager swipe from the assassin's claws. Naruto quickly came upon the Mist-Nin, the boy putting years of practice tying up prey to use by wrapping the ninja wire all around all of his limbs, before swooping up all the wires together, pulling his various limbs up into the air, and tying them all together. Whilst securing his knots, the Mist-Nin began to come back to full awareness... and finding himself in the precarious situation he was in wasn't exactly comforting.

"What the hell did you do to me you little brat?!" The assassin grunted out as he tried to wriggle free from the ninja wire, all in vein as Naruto, in a moment of triumph, placed his foot right on top of the Mist-Nin's head.

"What's it look like, I tied you up!" Naruto said, receiving a glare from his would be assassin. "Gee, no wonder you got beat by three Genin: you're an idiot!" The blond Genin gloated, the Mist-Nin now rabidly cursing at Naruto as he tried to undo the knots of the wire. The celebratory mood on the Genins' part was disturbed when the slow sound of tears began to come from where Kakashi and Gai had been sliced, as Lee stood over the pile of what they presumed to the be the remains of each of their sensei. Team 7 and the remainder of Team Gai slowly began to realize the reality of the situation: Gai and Kakashi were dead... leaving the Genin all alone with Tazuna.

This realization seemed to be even more horrifying for Tazuna, as the old man recalled just exactly who was right on his tail. Before the group could think of new options for their situation, Lee began to speak up.

"Gai-sensei... though you're honorable flames of youth have been extinguished by these dishonorable and lowly assassins'-" Lee began, receiving an insulted look from the still conscious Mist-Nin, and a small gurgle from his battered counterpart. "-... I PROMISE TO CONTINUE YOUR PROUD LINE OF YOUTHFUL THOUGHT, AND TO SPREAD EVERYWHERE THE IDEALS AND WORK ETHIC OF YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH!" Lee suddenly cried out, tears streaming down the sides of his cheeks rapidly. Before he could continue, however, there was a small sniffle at his side. Lee turned slowly, and was surprised to see Gai, whose own eyes had swollen with rivers of tears.

"Lee..." Gai said slowly, before his youthful energy caught up with him. "SUCH WORDS OF SPRING-TIME YOUTH! TRULY YOU'RE NOT JUST WORTHY TO BE MY STUDENT, BUT YOU HONOR ME WITH A FIERY SPEECH OF PASSION, KINDNESS, AND STRENGTH!" Gai said, as Lee suddenly ran forward, forgetting the pile of scraps at his feat, and enveloped Gai in a great hug.

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI...!" Both sensei and student cried out together, as slowly but surely the forest behind them seemed to be replaced by a cliff-side, and a great wave crashed against the rocky edge. Whilst the two spandex wearing ninja were having their moment, the rest of the Genin, Tazuna, and the conscious Mist-Nin found themselves just staring, half-amazed and half-terrified, at the seemingly resurrected body of Gai-sensei, who just a few minutes early had been turned into bits along with Kakashi.

"So... is he a ghost or something... cause I'm getting a little freaked out here..." Naruto asked the others with in a jittery tone. Ordinarily, such a question would've been received by a slap to the back of the head... in this case, however, the others in the group just shrugged, honestly unsure of whether or not they were looking at the undead.

"Oh, I assure you, both he and I are very much alive." A rather mono-tone voice rang in the ears of the remaining Genin, raising their heads up towards the source of the voice. Sitting atop one of the branches of the trees was Kakashi, whom looked down at the group with a somewhat curved eye as he waved. "Yo." The cycloptic Jounin greeted the other members of the group. There was a moment of stunned silence among the Genin, before the utter relief began to wash over them. After all, they had just watched the two Jounin get cut into chunks by the two Mist-Nin, and so...

"Hey, wait a minute!" Naruto shouted as he looked over to the pile of 'flesh'. "How did you-" An explosion of smoke interrupted Naruto's question, as from the plume of smoke, several chunks of log replaced the bits of Jounin that had been left there. While Neji and Tenten seemed a bit amazed, Team 7 was hardly pleased, and in fact, a little annoyed.

"Figures..." The younger Genin said under their breaths, this being the second time, third for Sasuke, that Kakashi had pulled that trick on them.

"So that's why you and Gai just stood there and blathered on like you did!" Tenten said, pounding her fist into her hand. "You two were just buying time to use the Replacement Jutsu." The weapons expert said in an impressed manner, Kakashi just sweating lightly as he jumped down from the limb.

"Well... yes, that and..." The scarecrow Jounin began, glancing over at Gai and Lee, who were both still hugging each other. "... that was really physically closer to Gai than I ever, and I mean ever, wanted to be." Kakashi said, causing the members of Gai's team to mutter a quick 'who could blame you'.

"Still, why didn't you help us out if you weren't really dead?" Sakura suddenly asked, Kakashi's gaze slowly moving over to the Haruno. "I mean... we won, yeah, but if we hadn't managed to pull that off, we would've died.." Sakura muttered under Kakashi's gaze, as the Jounin merely shrugged a bit.

"Both Gai and I were ready to jump in at a moment's notice should any of you have landed in serious trouble." Kakashi began, as he looked at both the Mist-Nin, smiling a little bit under his mask. "Looks like we were right to just let you handle this on your own though, excellent work all around." Kakashi praised the Genin as he walked over to the two Mist-Nin. "It's not every day that the Demon Brothers of the Mist are taking down by six Genin, after all." Gai said, ignoring the curses coming from the still conscious Demon brother, as he pulled out a scroll.

Biting the edge of his finger, Kakashi opened the scroll and lightly dabbed a kanji towards the beginning of said scroll, before dropping the scroll onto the ground. With a few seals following, a plume of smoke rose from the blood, covering the seal completely. As the smoke died down, a large, long line of rope had appeared on top of the scroll, Kakashi picking up the line and threw it to the Genin.

"Now, I need you all to tie these two up to that tree..." Kakashi said, with a look over to Gai. The other Jounin looked at his rival, noticing the nod over to Tazuna's direction. "Gai and I need to have a few words with our client." Kakashi spoke, slowly turning his head towards the normally drunken man, whom merely swallowed a lump in his throat as Kakashi began to approach. Gai quickly followed, ending his hug with Lee as he directed his student to help with the wrangling of the Demon Bros.

While the Genin went about tyiing up the assassins', removing their gauntlets just in case they were to try anything, Kakashi and Gai had begun grilling Tazuna.

"Tazuna.... I find it rather interesting that, amongst a group of eight ninja, two of which being rather famous in Konoha... that you were on the Demon Brothers' mind at all." Kakashi said, crossing his arms. "We want a bit of an explanation..." The cycloptic Jounin stated firmly, as Tazuna put up his hands in a defensive posture.

"Look, i-it's not what it looks like..." The aged man said nervously, Gai raising his huge eyebrows as spoke.

"So, it doesn't look like you lied to Konoha about the potential dangers our Genin would be facing on this mission, which seems to include some high-ranking, and very malicious, ninja?" The Taijutsu specialist asked, which merely caused Tazuna to swallow another lump in his throat.

"Alright... it's exactly what it looks like..." Tazuna began, before shaking his head. "But, you have to understand..." Tazuna tried to speak, before Kakashi interjected.

"No, you have to understand that you paid for two C-Rank missions, Genin teams specifically, which only called for us to protect you from highwaymen and other robbers... at this point, we have every right, and in fact responsibility, to just head back to Konoha right now, and leave this all behind us." Kakashi stated firmly, as panic seemed to fill Tazuna's eyes.

"W-wait! Please, let me explain myself first!" The old man pleaded with the two Jounin, clasping his hands together and bowing his head a tad. Kakashi and Gai glanced over at each other, and then back at the Genin. With a small nod at each other, Gai took the initiative and spoke.

"Alright, we'll let you explain Tazuna-san" The youthful Jounin said, Tazuna looking up at them with a relieved look. "Though, I doubt right in the middle of the path where we were just attacked would be the best place for you to begin." Gai noted, Tazuna nodding vigorously.

"Yes, of course... there's a boat ferry, just a little way's ahead of us! I'll explain on the boat ride... and if you all still feel like leaving me after I've explained, then you can just take the boat back here and leave me to my fate..." Tazuna said, ending on a solemn tone, as Kakashi and Gai once again nodded.

"Alright, Gai, start gathering up the Genin, I need to send a message back to Konoha to pick these two up." The scarecrow said as Gai nodded, walking over to the Genin as Kakashi prepared to send one of his Ninken back to Konoha to deliver the message. After the message was sent and the Demon Brothers firmly secured, the group moved forwards once again. As Tazuna had said, a row-boat was waiting for them on one-side of the shore... and it was a pretty small row boat.

"... You really expect all of us to fit into that..." Naruto spoke up first, Tazuna shrugging as he just kept walking towards the row boat.

"Look, couldn't really afford any better, so I had to go with what I could get." The older man said with a bit of a sigh, as the eight ninja skeptically looked at each other before boarding the boat. The small boat was able to carry and fit the ten of them, the tenth of course being the rower, though it was an extremely tight fit, over which muttered curses could just barely be heard over the sound of the moving water as the boat left shore.

It was a relatively silent beginning to the ride, as the ninja all awaited for Tazuna to begin explaining exactly why he felt the need to, effectively, scam Konoha into this sort of mission, the old worker sitting there, gathering his thoughts as he readied himself. Just as Kakashi was to push for Tazuna to get on with his story, the old man began.

"Let me start by saying that I didn't have much of a choice in the matter when it came to tricking you all." The aged man began, as the ninja listened intently. "My town, my village, pooled almost all of our remaining money together in order to find a bring ninja back to Wave to protect us... I just couldn't afford either a B-Rank or an A-Rank mission, even with all of that money we got together." Tazuna said with a bit of a sigh, as Kakashi just continued to look at the old man skeptically.

"We gathered that much just from the situation... mind telling us precisely why it was so important to get any of us in the first place?" The scarecrow Jounin asked, Tazuna just nodding.

"You see... it wasn't all that long ago that Wave was a prosperous section of the world. Our island was right at the delta of a river that led deep into the mainland... great place for anyone to trade. Boat's would come down the river to bring goods from the upstream, ships would come out from the ocean to trade their own goods, and all the while we stood right in the middle of it, handling the transactions, repairing ships, and even trading a few things we were making... life was good, and that I remember for certain."

"... Then a while back, some rich-bastard named Gato came along. The guy had a fleet of merchant vessels that he had built up from trading in other areas, and wanted to add our particular spot to his business empire. The bastard basically locked us off from the ocean or the river: instead of having ships come down to trade, he'd have his merchant vessels, save them the trouble by going upstream, and would go out into the ocean to save the islanders the trouble of coming to us."

"No matter how much we tried to break Gato's increasingly tight grip, something always seemed to happen that would just so happen to help him, while hurting us. We get a shipment of rare tea from one of the islands, that shipment would later be floating out towards the ocean the next morning. Any of the merchant vessels we had just laying around would quickly find themselves ablaze and sinking to the bottom of the waters. Any of us try to stop his bullying of our merchants... he'd just send even more the next day... and those who'd try to fight would find themselves hanging around town by a rope."

"Eventually... most of the money we had left was gone, and eventually the will to continue fighting left right along with it in most people..." Tazuna's speech slowed down towards the end, his head lowering a bit, his aged eyes showing the depth of the sorrow he and his village had experienced, causing the ninja gathered aboard the boat to frown somewhat. "But... there were enough of us... enough of us who decided that we'd see Wave freed from Gato's tyranny. So, we began devising a plan."

"We needed to think of a way to break Gato's monopoly around the trade in our region. The first few suggestions were just plain old foolish, some of the younger men in the bunch proposing we just storm wherever the hell Gato was hiding out and be done with him. Eventually, the ideas began to become even more serious. The first serious idea we had was the idea of building a bridge to connect us to the mainland, perhaps we could beat out Gato's monopoly on the sea with overland trade."

"Of course, several holes in the idea formed after we thought about it. Even with a bridge, Gato would still hold the monopoly on rare goods coming in from the islands, and furthermore he could travel up and down stream of the rivers faster than even the fastest amongst us could run or ride, so it'd basically do no harm to his grip on the trade important to Wave. Plus... there's the practicality of actually building a bridge long enough to connect us to the mainland."

"What do you mean?" Naruto chimed in, Tazuna just shrugging.

"First let's just talk about the financial means. The stuff needed to build a bridge strong enough to go for so long is expensive, and was just out of our league. Secondly, it'd take several years for us to even get the bridge finished with the rather small amount of volunteers for any of our efforts. Finally... well, you stand up." Tazuna began, a small glint in his eyes. Naruto, curious, did as Tazuna said and carefully stood up on the boat. "Now, say you're the bridge. You can't move at all and you're an eyesore that can be seen from a long ways off, thanks to how long you have to be built." The aged man said, Naruto sweat dropping at the 'eyesore' comment.

"Okay..." The blond said slowly, as Tazuna raised his foot a bit.

"Now, say my foot is a few dozen pounds of explosives." Tazuna said slowly. Before Naruto could even realize what the old man was getting at, Tazuna quickly swept his foot under Naruto's legs, causing the young ninja to fall right back down onto his seat, bumping a few heads and elbows on the way down, causing general pain amongst the group. Before any of them could retaliate, Kakashi and Gai managed to grab a hold or put an arm out in front of them, the two Jounin nodding.

"Alright, so a bridge wasn't just beyond your means, it was also completely open to being destroyed at the drop of a hat. If that's the case, what did you decide to go with in the end?" Kakashi asked, keeping his grip on Naruto as Tazuna continued.

"In the end, the idea we decided to go with was this: what if we built a ship. Not just any ship mind you, but a ship that's never been seen before! It'd be huge, with several hundreds of square feet dedicated to cargo space, but with enough sails with the winds at their back to move just as fast, if not faster, than any of the merchant vessels Gato's got running. If this could be made, then we'd be able to get more goods back to Wave from the islands, and attract those inland with just the sheer bulk of it all." Tazuna continued his tale, as all the ninja nodded.

"When the designs were finished up, we were pretty confident of the possible success... we just needed to be able to build the thing without Gato burning the thing in the middle of the night. We started off by building the frame on-land, just told Gato's goons that we were building a new temple... hehehe, believe me, they aren't the brightest bunch, so they bought it for as long as we needed them to."

"When the frame was just about done, and while it was still light enough for us to drag off, we waited bad enough storm to come by. We moved the frame down to some of the shallows Gato's ships and guards don't normally pass by while the storm gave us cover, and afterward told Gato's men that the storm destroyed what we had built of the temple, and that the remains of it had been carried off by the wind, or had been destroyed by a strike of lightning. They believed us, and we were able to continue building the ship in the shallows."

"Course, the ship had to be moved from the shallows, and then into some of our remaining dockyards. We had a lot of close calls in those days: the ship was pretty well out in the open for Gato's men to see, and there were times where we'd only have a twenty minute head start to move the thing out of the docks, and to another part of the water. Still, as luck were to have it, we managed to keep it hidden from Gato, and we actually thought we might be able to finish the thing..." Tazuna said, sighing as he lowered his head a bit.

"I take it something unexpected happened." Kakashi added, Tazuna scratching the back of his head as he sighed.

"I guess we should've known that Gato would've gotten suspicious eventually, and that eventually he'd try to get a better idea of what was going on himself. His thugs got up one of the men working with me on the ship... Kokuzoku, and dragged him off. When Kokuzoku came back, he told us that Gato offered him a large amount of money to tell him about the ship construction, and about how we'd been keeping it secret from him for so long... and Kokuzoku told Gato." The shipwright relented, Sasuke immediately jumping in.

"What'd you do to him?" The Uchiha asked, the question immediately being what the rest of the ninja had on their mind.

"Nothing." That was not the answer that the ninja had been expecting.

"Nothing?" Kakashi asked in an incredulous manner. "You didn't punish him at all?" The scarecrow Jounin added, Tazuna looking up at Kakashi with a bit of a tired expression.

"Punish him for what? Trying to survive?" The old man asked, the surprised expressions remaining on the shinobi's face. "I'm not kidding when I say that Wave's become dirt poor. There's a lot of people in Wave who can no longer afford to take care of themselves... much less a family of their own." Tazuna said, leaning back. "What Kokuzoku did was wrong, no one in our town disputes that... but we also realized that most of us would've done exactly the same in his situation." Tazuna finished, each of the ninja taking on a look of empathy, with only Naruto seeming to take a true understanding of the situation.

"Moving on... we knew, from that moment on, that Gato would be coming for us. There was no doubt in our mind that the midget would make a personal appearance for the execution... so, a lot of the people I had worked with ran to hide. The rest of us stayed... decided that if we were going down, we were going down with our dignity intact."

"The night came and went, and the next morning, Gato came shuffling along with his goons to the docks. We stood there, ready to take whatever he could dish out... what we didn't expect was for him to walk right up to the ship and start complimenting it. 'Oh yes, this is a marvel of maritime engineering. It'd be a great shame for such a wonderful piece of construction to find itself moored at the bottom of the sea'." Tazuna said, contorting his voice into a tiny, slimy pitch.

"We all thought he was just buying his sweet time before setting it ablaze, and sending us down with it... that's when he really surprised us. He said that he wasn't going to sink the ship, and that furthermore, he nor his men were going to kill us. The bastard... said that just killing us wasn't obviously enough, that upstarts like us didn't learn our lesson from the last time, which is another story for another time." Tazuna quickly said the last piece of the sentence, interrupting the potential flurry of questions.

"He said this time it was going to be worse... he said this time he was going to have us killed with no blood on his hands... but blood all over the ship and dockyard. 'I'll hire one of the very best ninja, I'll have him kill you, then I'll have him parade your mutilated bodies all around town, for everyone to see.' He wanted to make sure that this time everyone got the message."

"After he left... well, those of us who weren't panicked quickly found ourselves nerve wrecked. We called together a meeting in the town, and tried to decide what to do about this. I'm sure you can tell that, our solution ended up being to hire our own ninja to help protect the docks from Gato. Everyone in town chipped in as much money as they had on them, and it was decided that they'd send me off to hire the ninja... thinking that even if Gato's ninja arrived before ours could, at least if I were alive I'd be able to continue the ship building process."

"Before I left Kokuzoku... the man came up to me, and practically forced pouch of money into my hand. It was his way of apologizing I suppose, even if we didn't think he had to... it was a welcome help though, believe me." Tazuna said, smiling a bit before sighing. "So, took me a couple days to get to Konoha on foot and on this dingy, and when I arrived I got straight to the mission center to try and hire out a Jounin... understand that I never intended to cheat you guys out of a mission in the first place..." Tazuna began, before Kakashi's visible eye widened a bit.

"But even with all you had, you still didn't have enough, did you?" The scarecrow Jounin asked, Tazuna nodding.

"No... I wasn't even close. I could've barely afforded a small squad of Chunin as it was. It was devastating: Gato had all the money he could ever need to hire out the very best ninja in any of the lands, and yet there I was standing, needing to defend my home, with barely enough money to get a few Chunin..." The shipwright said, before adjusting his glasses.

"That's when I noticed one of the many Genin teams leaving for a C-Rank mission.... it wasn't the Genin that caught my attention... it was the Jounin that accompanied them." Tazuna began, an 'Oh no..' being muttered under Kakashi's breath. "When I learned that if I hired out a Genin team, that team's Jounin would automatically accompany them, I was ecstatic. It may have been lying, I may have been gaming the system, but dammit... I didn't have much of a choice at that point." Tazuna said, a very impressed expression coming over most of the Genin's faces, while Gai and Kakashi looked somewhat disturbed that the ranking system, which had been put into place in order to PREVENT such happenings, had just been gamed by an ordinary old man.

"I thought that if I could get back to Wave with the team in tow, and then if Gato's ninja were to attack, the Jounin in the team would have little choice but to fight off Gato's ninja for survival. When I went out to purchase a C-Rank, I noticed that Kokuzoku's bribe money would've let me hire out two teams... which, as we can see, I did." Tazuna said, sighing as he scratched the back of his head. "That... of course... brings us right back here." The shipwright wrapped up his story, leaning back on his boat seat as the tale ended. "Look... I won't hold it against you if you do end up deciding to go back to Konoha... what I did was wrong, and I acknowledge this... but please, from an old man and his village, help us. I promise to eventually pay you back in full when I can." Tazuna implored the gathered Shinobi, each of them taking on a thoughtful expression.

"... Gai, what do you think?" Kakashi asked his fellow Jounin, who struck a thoughtful pose, his eyebrows a bit low.

"Well... while lying to and cheating people are two of the most un-youthful things someone can do..." Gai began, as suddenly the green-jump suit wearing Jounin stood up straight on his face, rocking the boat a bit as tears streamed down his eyes. "THIS MAN HAS TRAVELED LONG DISTANCES, RISKED HIS LIFE AND WELL BEING, AND EVEN RISKED PENALITIES OF LAW IN ORDER TO HELP SAVE HIS HOME, HIS VILLAGE, HIS FRIENDS, HIS FAMILY! TRULY, EVEN IN HIS OLD AGE, TAZUNA-SAN IS ONE OF THE MOST YOUTHFUL PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD! TO NOT ASSIST HIM IN HIS SPRING-TIME QUEST OF PASSION WOULD BE MOST HAINOUS!" Immediately after Gai's youthful monologue, his protégé immediately leaped up to join him, further rocking the boat.

"OOOOOH! GAI-SENSEI IS RIGHT! TAZUNA-SAN MUST BE ASSISTED, IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS YOUTHFUL!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENS-"

"DON'T, YOU'LL TIP THE BOAT OVER!" The two green beasts of Konoha were shouted down by the other passengers on the small row boat. Gai and Lee, sweat dropping a tad bit, immediately sat down, still giving a thumbs up to Tazuna to signal their support. After the two spandex wearing ninja were stopped, Kakashi looked at the other Genin.

"Well, what about you all? If we end up going to Wave, your lives will be just as on the line as mine or Gai's..." The masked Jounin tossed the question out there, Naruto being the first to step up for an answer.

"Lying, cheating, hiding, sneaking around, using devious tactics in order to around an obstacle..." Naruto counted off on his right hand... before smirking a bit. "Wave sounds like my kind of place, and this old fart isn't as big of an ass as I thought he was." The blond quipped, Tazuna's smile immediately falling into a glare when Naruto insulted him, twice in a row. "No way I would say no to helping them out." Naruto said, throwing in with Gai and Lee, before Sasuke suddenly smirked.

"If the idiot's brave enough to head into this, no way I'm getting left out of it." The Uchiha threw in, Sakura immediately following up Sasuke's answer.

"Like you said Kakashi-sensei, we're a team. If Naruto and Sasuke are going, I'm coming right with them." The pink-haired kunoichi said with a smile, Tenten chuckling a bit.

"Hey, don't be forgetting about us back here." Tenten said with a smirk, quickly pulling out a kunai. "But I agree with the others, we've come this far, we can't just chicken out now." The weapon's mistress said, giving the small weapon in her hand a quick twirl. The last unannounced Genin was Neji, whom was sitting in the back of the boat with the rower, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Gato obviously has more ninja, and more skilled ninja, lined up for us... it's not going to be quite as easy as with the Demon Brothers back there..." The member of the Branch House muttered to himself, before tilting his head forward. "If anything, if Kakashi and Gai-sensei fight, it'll be even easier." The Hyuga said, a confident smirk growing on his face. "I'm with the others: we should go." Neji declared, with utmost confidence, as everyone looked to Kakashi, whose eye just curved.

"Well, that settles it then." The Hatake said, turning to Tazuna. "Looks like you have a full, energized group of ninja right behind you Tazuna-san." Kakashi said, Tazuna smiling at the entire group, the elder man nodding in appreciation of his, effectively, volunteer guards.

"Thank you all." Tazuna thanked the ninja, just as the mist began to die down from the river, and land began to become visible on the other side of the river bank.

"Alright, this is as far as I can take you all. Sorry Tazuna, but much further and we'll run right into Gato's more active trade routes." The rower said solemnly, as Tazuna nodded.

"Just get us to the shore and we'll walk the rest of the way to the village." The old shipwright instructed, the rower following through with the order, landing at the shore. The ninja, quite thankfully, got off the tiny rowboat and right back onto firm, solid ground. As the rower pushed the boat back out to the sea, the ninja and Tazuna walked into the forest, making their way down the road towards Tazuna's home village.

As they walked, however, two figures far off into the forest observed the group from afar, the taller of the two figures grunting to itself.

".... Two of them, one is the copy-nin, Kakashi Hatake, the other... some freak in green... spandex." The figure said, sweat dropping. "I'm starting to think you're worrying over nothing Haku..." The tall figure said to the short, Haku, as the young man looked up at the taller figure.

"Zabuza-sama, often times appearances can betray the true lethality of the person underneath." Haku said to the tall figure, Zabuza, who just growled a bit.

"I suppose you'd know quite a bit about deceptive appearances Haku." Zabuza said to Haku, whom chuckled lightly. "Fine, you try to get the spandex freak away from the Copy-nin and the Genin... I'll handle Hatake... and then finish the job." Zabuza said, Haku merely nodding in compliance with the larger man as the two suddenly disappeared into the darkness, their excite as silent as their appearance...

… Their appearance does not bode well for our traveling heroes...

Song Omake

_Hello- Lee Singing_

**Hello- Naruto Singing**

Hello- Tazuna Singing

_Hello- Gai Singing_

**Hello- Tenten Singing**

_**Hello- Sakura Singing**_

Hello (with no ")- Kakashi Singing

"_Hello" - "Neji singing"_

"**Hello" - "Sasuke Singing"**

_**Hello- All males Singing**_

As the troupe of ninjas, and the old shipwright, traveled through the forest, boredom quickly set in upon the group. After all, there wasn't much to do while you were, quite possibly, marching to your death.

"Man... the silence... it's unbearable..." Naruto complained quite loudly, a small myriad of groans accompanying his.

"Well then Naruto, perhaps you should try to find a way to break the silence..." Kakashi said idly, having gotten over the deafening silence and boredom by pulling out his copy of Icha-Icha Paradise. Naruto sighed as he tried to think, before Sakura jumped in.

"How about a marching song?" The pink-haired kunoichi suggested, Neji and Tenten immediately paling beyond belief.

"... No, don't. Really, a marching song is an awful idea...." Neji said, Tenten shaking her quickly as she tried to subtly point over in Lee's direction, which, sadly, no one caught.

"Well, then it's settled, a small marching tune to keep our spirits up." Kakashi said, curving his eye as he closed his book. Neji and Tenten sighed in defeat, knowing the great annoyance that was soon to visit them. "Alright, boys, let's start this off." Kakashi ordered, the other guys sighing as they got ready to sing:

_**For a long time we've,**_

_**been marching to, new land**_

**In this tiny group,**

**with this old man that I can't stand**

Naruto's interruption in the opening moment of the song wasn't taken too kindly by Tazuna, who merely glared at the young boy. While the other males in the group tried to ignore Naruto's outburst, Naruto just kept right on going.

**Despite this catchy beat,**

**my aching feet aren't easy to ignore!**

_HEY!_

Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin as Rock Lee, in a flash of speed not having been witnessed previously, popped up right behind Naruto, and screamed right into his ear.

_Think of instead,_

_a girl worth fighting fooooooooor!_

… **What?**

Naruto's question went unanswered, as Neji and Tenten only gave the entire group an 'I told you so look, whilst Lee took off from there.

_That's what I said,_

_a girl worth fighting foooooooor!_

_I'd want her paler than the moooon!_

_With eyes as green as reeds!_

Naruto, finally finding something not so monotonous, joined in Lee's chorus immediately.

**My girl would marvel at strength,**

**adore my, lightning speed!**

Both of the singing boys quickly found themselves shoved out of the way, as Tazuna decided, in a bit of a drunken fit, to join in on the song.

I couldn't care less what she'd wear

or what she'd look like!

It'd all depend on

what she cooks like!

Beef, pork, SAKI! YUM!

The drunken shipwright wasn't done, as he soon decided to begin messing with the other Genin males, starting with the stoic Uchiha.

Bet the local girls thought

you were quite the charmer!

"Don't even get me started........." Sasuke muttered, as Tazuna moved onto Neji, pulling off the boy's headband, and tapping the metal plate.

And I'll bet the ladies 

love a man, in armor!

Neji immediately struck Tazuna about the head, taking back his headband to cover his forehead, as the shipwright just shrugged, and kept going.

Between staying with you,

and looking for my gal',

between the two I am tore!

_What do we want?!_

_**A girl worth fighting for!**_

Sasuke and Neji, despite their distaste for the song, relented, and joined in the madness, rather than be abused by Tazuna's teasing.

"**My girl would forgive me for my faults."**

"_Think I'm a major find!"_

Neji and Sasuke, however, soon found themselves approached by Sakura and Tenten.

_**How 'bout a girl who's got a brain?**_

**Who always speaks her mind?**

NAAAAAAH!

Tazuna's suddenly shoved Sasuke and Neji out of the way as he yelled, being granted a quick punch to the stomach from both girls, knocking the drunkard down. Just as Sakura was moving away, she soon found herself approached by Lee.

_My youthful ways, and dazzling gaze_

_are sure to thrill y-her!_

"_He thinks he's such_

_a lady killer..."_

As Sakura moved away from Lee, Neji soon walked up right behind Lee, punctuating the last word of his sentence with a sweeping kick underneath Lee's feet, knocking him to the ground.

_I have a girl back home_

_who's unlike any other!_

Just as Gai declared about this girl, Kakashi slowly leaned back to the Genin, and whispered to them.

Yeah the only girl who'd

love him is his mother

_**But when we come home in victory**_

_**they'll line up at the door!**_

_What do we want?_

_**A girl worth fighting for!**_

**Wish that I had...**

_**A girl worth fighting for!**_

_**A girl worth fighting-**_

Just as the men were about to finish off the song, a large sword suddenly passed by over them, and slammed itself into a nearby tree, Zabuza appearing atop the giant sword, clapping his hands together.

…_**.. for......**_

R&R


	23. Chapter 22

Naruto Alone

Hey there folks, Arganaut here with the next chapter of Naruto: Alone. Last time we left our heroes they had just joined up with Team Gai, old friends of Naruto whom he had not seen since they graduated from the Academy two years previous. They were all jointly on the mission to Wave with the Shipwright, Tazuna, with the hopes of being able to defend the man from any threat while he tries to finish the ship that could become the saving grace of the entire Land of Wave. Of course, as we left them the shadowy figures of Zabuza and Haku were closely watching the travelers... who knows what they plot in order to deal with our intrepid group of ninja.

Well, I know, and soon you will too. That is, once I get these reviews out of the way:

KaliAnn- While admittedly Tazuna's a bit... well, is a very angry drunk, the guy's certainly been through enough, in my opinion, to warrant it. Granted, he's still a jerk, but that's an aside at this point. Anyway, glad you liked some of the back story and extra details I put into the mission room. I don't often have reasonable ways to write in Iruka or Sarutobi, so I take what I can get in order to write some interesting character bits for them.

justanotherguyathiscomputer- I was just as surprised as you probably were when you guessed correctly. Though I had planned for Team Gai to go on this mission for a long time before this, as it hasn't been done before. I hope this chapter will satisfy you and others just as well as you say the last chapter did.

**VFSnake-** Indeed, and not just the first battle with Zabuza either. Believe me when I say that I have plans to try and knock the socks off of you and others.

DarkRavie- Thank you.

The Epitome of Eccentricity- Yeah, it's a coincidence. I've actually never heard of the anime XD Lucky coincidence, eh?

Necromancer Gora- Indeed. I would've gotten this one out sooner... but I ended up having a filling replaced recently. Even if I was numbed during the replacing, the soreness remained quite a while afterward. Believe me it's really, really hard to do anything after that.

Silver Warrior- On both accounts, that was the plan, good sir. I try my best in order to make the arcs as original as possible, especially after I so royally messed up the Forbidden Scroll chapter. Glad you enjoy.

VampyreVixen16- Hehehe, believe me, I know what it's like to have a very small amount of patience. Anxiety is quite the patience killer. However, I would say that I rather prefer to take it slow and do it well, rather than go very quick and miss something perilous to the story's quality. I will try to get these out more often in the future, however.

Sentiment Remains- Thank you very much for the compliment, always nice to see when I open up the review section.

Kage James- Well, while I disagree with your argument, I respect the fact that you would speak your mind. Thank you.

Windschild8178- Well, Epitome of Eccentricity isn't my beta, my normal beta is actually Zoneshifter D. Though, judging by Epitome's reviews, you have quite the capable beta on your hands.

Zamrok- Well, the long 6 months absence was me sort of dropping off from the fandom over more or less just plain old disappointment with the manga. When it started getting really bad, to the point where it was pissing me off, it lit a fire under my ass and got me back in to fanfiction. My updates are now usually 1-2 months, if only because college can keep me really busy, and I'm taking more time in order to plot out each chapter specifically.

Ricieri1- We'll see if I can do this even faster, hopefully.

**Dragon Man 180-** The gauntlets would've been unwieldy for Naruto, especially right in the middle of a mission. Not really his style either. The bridge name is indeed a bit of a loss, but you're right, the ship change will be quite the replacement, you'll see.

**FictionReader98-** Glad to hear you enjoyed the chapter again my friend. Naruto not being frozen, as well as him just tolerating his missions is indeed a side-effect of him having gone through the childhood he did. It was a rough life and, while I'm sure his nerves rattled for a moment, it wouldn't have been so terrible as to cause him to not act at all. After all, for Naruto, not taking action was never a good option when in trouble.

KrC- Thank you, and welcome to the story. Here's to hoping to see you around in the review section again.

Anyway, with reviews out of the way, I have some things I need to address. From now on, I'll be putting my Author's Notes/Review Responses down at the bottom of the update instead of up at the top. I'm doing it with the hopes of grabbing more people's attention just in case I have any big announcements that need to be gotten out. Why would this necessitate the change from top to bottom? Well, I know from my own personal experience that quite a few times I end up just jumping right to the story, completely ignoring the author's note at the top, and quite often forget to double back to read it once I'm done with the chapter. So this is more or less just to be sure to catch people whom are, like myself, lazy bastards.

Speaking of lazy, sorry y'all for having taken so long to get this chapter out. I know that normally summer should be a person's most active set of months for fan fiction but, what can I say, between the sun, the heat, and the knowledge that school isn't too far off, I guess I just become a bump on my bed just catching up on my sleep alone. I'll be trying to speed up my updating throughout the rest of this month and next (including a new project that I've been digging my fingers into).

Also, as I'm sure only a few of you have noticed by now, I've deleted two stories from my list: Love Hina: Switch and Tales of Symphonia: The Nephilim. In case that wasn't a big enough hint, I'll spell it out a little more plainly: those stories are discontinued. For the former, I just didn't have many ideas for what to do with it to begin with and I started writing it mostly on a whim, and the latter... well, I just never quite got it off the ground as well as I would currently have liked, plus I was mostly just beating my head against the wall with it, so it had to go out. As I said in the previous paragraph, I do have a new project that I'll be posting sometime in the near future (so be sure to keep an eye out).

Alright, with all that out of the way, let's get to the meat of all of this. Presenting the next chapter of Naruto: Alone.

Chapter 22: Zabuza Attacks!

For many ninja, there was a great amount of adrenaline and energy to be found in the precipice of the battle. Laying in wait for the enemy to get into just the right position, waiting for your potential trap to be sprung, or even just silently sitting, as you study your enemy, take note of their every movement, record their ticks and memorize their patterns...

For Zabuza, however, this was his least favorite moment in of a battle, and had been for a long time. Zabuza was a man who longed for the taste of blood. There was nothing more Zabuza loved than to sink his sword into the body of his foe and watch the last bit of life sink from their eyes, as all the fear and apprehension they had built up waiting for the ex-Mist-Nin to strike was finally released into death's embrace.

These thoughts consumed Zabuza as he stood several hundred meters away from his most recent prey, allowing Haku to get up close and study the foes so that, if by chance the Hyuga would activate his Byakugan and extend his gaze, at the very least the two of them would not be caught together. That way Haku, posing at this moment as a Mist Hunter-Nin, could create a valid alibi.

He was just taking his time... slowly envisioning how he would slay each of them, how his sword would cut them down. Would he kill them all slowly, allowing him ample time to take in their fear, their terror and their doubts... or would he just move in and kill them all in an instant, savoring the sudden look of shock that would be seen in their last, fleeting moments of life...

In the ninja line of work, you killed people. There were no ifs, ands or buts about it. Sooner or later you were going to end someone's miserable existence, so you needed to find some way to deal with it. For most ninja, there were two ways to cope. You could either try to put yourself above it, claim morality and 'try not to hurt innocence', and eventually snap under the mental weight of all the blood you spilled. Or, of course, you could just take the sweet time to enjoy each and every single kill, take in the moment of death for all that it was worth...

Zabuza, of course, chose the latter.

'It is always so hard to choose...' Zabuza thought to himself, under his bandages a sickening grin forming. 'Perhaps, since there are so many of them this time around, I can have a chance to partake in both...' The former Swordsman of the Mist thought, a low chuckle following the delightful mental images that followed. Zabuza's thoughts were suddenly interrupted, as Haku suddenly appeared before him, the two ninja merely nodding at each other before speaking.

"So, Haku, what have you got worked up in that skull of yours..." Zabuza inquired the younger ninja, Haku merely standing still as he addressed his superior.

"As we saw before, there are eight of them accompanying the target, two Jounin and six Genin. While the Jounin are natural worries in and off themselves, we have the additional obstacle concerning the Hyuga Genin amongst them. Fortunately I didn't tip them off to my presence, so the Byakugan had not been activated. The boy will certainly make a sneak attack quite difficult... perhaps we should consider an ambush out of the question." Haku stated firmly, Zabuza nodding.

"Indeed... any sign at all that something's amiss and that Byakugan would flare immediately, and I'd be ousted for those Jounin to come at me immediately." Zabuza stated, Haku nodding as he continued.

"Even without the boy with the Byakugan, the presence of Kakashi Hatake and his Sharingan could prove quite worrisome for the effort in the first place." The masked young man stated, as Zabuza sighed.

"So, an ambush wouldn't be plausible this time around... fine by me." Zabuza said, a slight movement in his bandages signifying a smirk. "So, a frontal assault then?" Zabuza asked, Haku's breath catching for a moment, before he continued.

"No and yes." The false Hunter-Nin stated, Zabuza's eyebrows risen, non-verbally asking the boy to clarify the statement. "You will eventually need to rush right on in, try to take out either one of the Jounin as quickly as possible. However, Zabuza-sama, I don't think it'd be in your best interest to take them both on at once." Haku explained, Zabuza's facial features once again appearing to move into a smirk.

"Since you're telling me all this, I take it you have a plan?" The former Swordsman of the Mist inquired, Haku nodding slightly as he placed his hands into the ram seal.

"Indeed... though it will require some fast movement on your part, some stage setting on mine, and then a bit of theatrics on both of our parts." With that, a plume of smoke surrounded Haku, Zabuza chuckling as he formed his own ram seal.

"Sounds like fun..."

- The Forest Path -

There are those who say that it is the calm before the storm that is most stressful for the dutiful warrior. That, it is not the idea that there is an enemy to fight that sends the knees of both seasoned and fresh soldiers knocking, but rather the wait, the helpless time spent waiting for the battle to arrive that made the spines quake. If one were to look at the Genin amongst the Konoha-Nin, they would find this statement to be validated, even amongst the more hardened members of the Genin.

Why shouldn't they have been? Even the members of Team Gai, whom had one year of experience up on Team 7, had never found themselves in this sort of situation. The threat of a powerful ninja, a Jounin or maybe even worse, stalking them, and then soon afterward cutting them open, was a possibility that they couldn't shake from their thoughts. Even Sasuke, Neji and Naruto were visibly shaken, despite the former's run in with a foe he considered the most dangerous par none, the second's normally prevailing air of cool, and the latter's own life experiences.

Naruto knew exactly what type of situation they were in. They weren't in some large crowded city, where there was always a large group of people to disappear behind, or an alleyway to duck behind... they were right out in the open, like animals in the hunt, not even sure of where their hunters would be coming from, always vulnerable to some unseen stalker...

'Suddenly I'm starting to sympathize with the animals I hunt...' Naruto thought to himself, looking back at Neji. The young man's Byakugan, probably the most useful tool available to the Konoha-Nin at the moment, was currently deactivated, Gai and Kakashi wishing to withhold the power of Neji's bloodline to conserve his chakra for moments where the two older men felt it would be needed. It made Naruto wonder just what Kakashi and Gai were expecting to eventually come up against, but he slid that thought underneath the rug of his mind, so as to not cause further stress.

For Lee, Tenten and Sakura, the situation was a tad more stressful. None of the three had experienced in life what Sasuke and Naruto had, and they certainly didn't possess the Hyuga calm that had likely been repeatedly beaten into Neji's head over the course of his life, which left them quite unsure of how to handle an upcoming situation. For Lee and Tenten, there was a certain faith in their skills. Gai's training had paid off quite handsomely for them, with Lee's taijutsu and Tenten's weapons skills being far greater than the average Genin, giving them something to fall back upon.

Sakura, however, was effectively up the creek without a paddle. Kakashi's training, while helpful as far as learning to control her chakra was concerned, didn't give the young kunoichi much in the way of offensive or defensive fighting. She was the most green of all the Genin assembled here and she knew it. It made her feel somewhat helpless, not even being able to think of a way to possibly help in an upcoming battle, while her teammates and Team Gai would have skills and techniques to be able to at least defend Tazuna while Kakashi and Gai would handle whatever ninja came their way.

As Sakura stewed, Kakashi and Gai continually scanned the land around them, the two experienced Jounin already more than capable of handling this sort of situation. The only thing that currently worried them was in regards to the caliber of their opponent would be, a variable if there ever was one.

"Tazuna-san, how close are we to your village?" Kakashi asked, the Copy-Nin taking a glance over his right shoulder back their employer, whom merely scratched his head for a second before nodding.

"We're not too far now... we'll probably be able to make back their before dusk if we keep going at this pace." The shipwright stated firmly, Kakashi nodding as he looked back ahead.

'It'll have to do... we can't afford to rush if the enemy knows we're on our way.' Kakashi thought to himself, exchanging a silent nod with his 'youthful rival' as the group continued on. After perhaps five minutes of walking, Naruto started to feel quite wary of his surroundings. The young Genin didn't know what hit him... but for some reason he suddenly felt like he was being watched. The former thief tried not to make too much of a deal or too large of a motion as he slowly reached for his kunai pouch, his ears slowly locking onto a location about five feet to his right.

Without warning the blond immediately chucked a kunai from his pouch into the dense brush beside the group, the sound of metal striking wood capturing the attention of the group as the two Jounin immediately tensed up.

"What was it, Naruto?" Kakashi asked, heading over to where Naruto threw his kunai, the blond staying back, allowing the more experienced Jounin to go in first, lest there be a trap set by a ninja of even greater stature than the Demon Brothers.

"It just felt like something was following us..." Naruto said, Gai looking Neji's direction, the Hyuga already beginning to focus his chakra.

"Right." The branch Hyuga said in a stern manner, Neji's Byakugan flaring to life as he immediately began to take in the surroundings. Of course, thanks to his special eyes, Neji was the first amongst the group to sweat drop upon seeing what Naruto had thrown the kunai at, as Kakashi pulled from the brush, not just the kunai, but also a white hare. The rest of the group just stared at the terrified rabbit, so shaken by the sudden kunai toss, with Sasuke and Sakura slapping their foreheads a bit, having come to expect a bit more from their teammate than to mistake a hare for a threat.

Naruto was attempting not to drool over the small rabbit in front of him, the blond never having seen a white-haired rabbit in the region before. That fact alone worried him a bit... even during winters where there would be snow he hadn't seen white hares. Naruto looked up at Kakashi, whom merely returned a small nod back at him as he put the rabbit down.

"Stay sharp everyone, this rabbit isn't a natural inhabitant of this region, not enough long-lasting snow, which means someone brought it here... which could mean someone just used it for a replacement jutsu." Kakashi said in a somewhat worried tone, as Gai shifted his eyes.

"Neji, did you see anyone else in your Byakugan's vision?" The ordinarily goofy Jounin asked, Neji just shaking his head, his Byakugan still active.

"No... I didn't see anyone in my field of vision after I activated it." Neji said in a nervous tone, the gathered Genin and Tazuna swallowing a lump in their throat as the implications of that statement became perfectly clear.

"That means there's someone running about fast enough to activate a replacement jutsu in the time it took for Naruto's kunai to travel, and then run all the way outside the Byakugan's range." Gai said, his fellow Jounin nodding as he cracked his neck.

"Everyone, you especially. Neji, keep your eyes peeled." Kakashi ordered, Neji standing in the center of the group, while everyone kept their gaze in different directions, everyone trying to keep their bases covered. It was becoming a more and more tense situation as they sat and awaited whatever enemy was to come their way.

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"**

A blood curdling scream tore its way through the tense atmosphere, knocking the ninja out of their focused stance as they began to look around again. Neji was already focusing his Byakugan in the direction of the scream, focusing his wide-field of vision to the direction.

"It's no use-" Neji began, grinding his teeth together as his eyes remained active. "-whoever screamed, they're outside of my Byakugan's limits... again." Neji said, the two Jounin in the group looking at each other with some worry.

"It's obviously a trap..." Gai muttered to himself, another scream tearing through the air, causing both Gai and Kakashi to wince.

"Indeed, seems a little odd that there'd suddenly be some damnsel in need of rescuing after someone found us and ran..." Kakashi stated, as a third scream bore its way into their skulls.

"Still, if it a trap, it sounds as though the trappers are using... real bait." Gai said, his frown deepening as the screams continued, Kakashi's visible eye curling downward with a nod.

"Yes, it would be quite morose of us not to try to stop it... then again it'd be irresponsible of us to leave Tazuna behind." The scarecrow Jounin stated, his rival shaking his head a bit.

"If one of us were to go while the other remains behind, we'd be able to keep our bases covered. If it does turn out to be a trap, one of us will be here to keep everyone safe, while the one who goes can work his way back here as soon as possible." The green-spandex wearing Jounin said, as Kakashi lowered his brow.

"And if the person who goes ends up in trouble?" The silver-haired Jounin inquired, as Gai merely smiled.

"Please Kakashi, like a group of people so concerned with fighting us that they'd try to lure us away from our target would be powerful enough to cause even one of us so much trouble that we'd be unable to at least get a signal back." Gai said, Kakashi sweat dropping a bit.

"While I appreciate the vote of confidence you seem to have for both of us... I must wonder if it's entirely warranted." Kakashi finished, sighing as yet another scream tore through the atmosphere, the Jounin just shook his head. "Well... it's better than just leaving whoever is out there to die..." Kakashi relented, Gai nodding as he turned towards the direction of the scream.

"As our competitions have shown that I am the faster of the two of us, I'll run out and check on the situation. I'll report back as soon as I find whatever is out there." Gai said as he stretched out his arms. "Neji, keep your Byakugan active in order to alert everyone of my return or the approach of any possible enemies." The jump-suited Jounin ordered the young Hyuga, Neji merely nodding sternly, his Byakugan having been active for the past few minutes.

With his stretches complete, Gai immediately sprinted off, a whirlwind of leaves left in his wake. Gai's incredible speed easily carried him through a great deal of the forest in the blink of an eye, his search only slowed by the needed dodging and weaving through the trees. After running through a few clearings and searching through the treeline Gai soon came by the source of the screams.

He arrived just at the right moment to witness a young woman dressed in a pink, floral dress, looking to be only a year or two older than his own students, being struck down by a water style jutsu, the torrent of water slamming the girl painfully against a nearby tree. As the young woman's broken body slid down the side of the tree trunk, Gai got a chance to do a full assessment of the damage done to her.

Truly the attacker was brutal, to say the very least. The young woman's body was covered in deep gashes and scratches, blood slowly oozing its way down her limbs and skins, as more was coughed up from her throat. Her face and arms were badly bruised, large purple marks covering his exposed skin. The attack from the water had left an impression on the tree... telling Gai that internal damage to the girl wasn't all too unlikely.

Gai turned his gaze to a nearby stream where, standing atop the water, a man with a bandaged lower face and a large sword upon his stood, lowering his hands from a seal. For Gai, what alerted him was not the fact that he could not identify him, but the build the man possessed. Quite a bit taller than himself, and muscular, Gai could plainly tell that this man wasn't about to stand down so easily.

The spandex wearing Jounin's speed had already caused him to overshoot the treeline, which would make a surprise Dynamic Entry near impossible, so the Taijutsu master merely readied his stance.

"You, ruthless barbarian who dares to strike down an innocent young woman! Prepare yourself for an encounter with Maito Gai, Konoha's Noble Green Beast, and Youthful Disciple of the Strong Fist Style!" The Green Beast bellowed his declaration, barely invoked a response from the man. Instead, his bandages shifted upwards, as if underneath them he was smiling, as he brought his right hand back up, forming half of a ram seal. In the next instant, the bandaged man suddenly disintegrated, turning into nothing more than water, which dropped right back into the river. Gai's brow lowered slightly as he saw the apparent Water Clone disperse itself, the Jounin barely flinching as he stood back up, lowering his guard as he looked over at the girl.

'So, this was merely a distraction to get us off the main road, or away from Tazuna-sama.' Gai noted as he began walking over to the injured girl, her long black hair spread out over her face. 'That hit was solid enough where if this person were under an illusion, it'd be dispelled from their shattered focus, so an enemy in disguise is unlikely at least...' Gai said as he approached her, the girl's shoulders shaking as she pushed herself up to her hands.

Gai, quietly deciding that the girl didn't present a threat, picked up his pace, walking right to the young woman's side, where kneeled down.

"Are you alright young miss?" Gai asked as he helped her to her feet, the girl merely nodding slightly, her hair obscuring her face. After a few incoherent murmurs left her lips, the jounin raised his quite large eyebrows. "Pardon me, but I didn't quite catch that." The spandex wearing Jounin stated, the girl simply nodding as she brought her hands up together, and flashed through a series of seals.

"I said, thank you for your concern..." A cold voice replied as her seal sequence finished, the water previously used by the water style jutsu suddenly crawling up Gai's legs and torso, surrounding his arms and his neck. Before the Jounin could act, the water froze solid, producing a fine layer of ice from his neck to his toes. Gai's eyes widened as the girl drew more water from the nearby stream, layering the water to form new layers of ice atop the original layer, further encapsulating him in his ice prison.

By the time the young woman was finished, Gai's body, at any point, was covered in no less than six layers of solid ice. The Jounin stared at the ice body-prison, both horrified and bemused by the sudden turn of events. The Green Beast's attention was drawn back to the woman, as she chuckled slightly upon seeing her handiwork. Gai watched in horror as the girl slowly cleared the blood off of her, the deep gashes revealing themselves to be little more than scratches painted to appear more severe. Gathering up some water left over from her ice, the girl began to wash off the false bruises from her body, layers of what were now apparently make-up oozing down to the forest floor.

"I really do thank you for your concern, it made it all the easier to trap you here... Zabuza-sama will be pleased with my handiwork." The girl stated with a strange smile, Gai's eyes suddenly widening upon hearing Zabuza's name uttered. Zabuza wasn't exactly a common name in the ninja world, and the one famous individual who could claim that name in the world of ninja was the dreaded Zabuza Momochi. Gai's mind worked through the horrifying possibilities that awaited Kakashi, their students and Tazuna if indeed the very same Zabuza was the one orchestrating this little scene, and the picture was not pleasant.

'Of course-' Gai thought, his eyes darting over to the girl. '-I have my own situation to deal with right now.' As if sensing his worry, the young woman shook her head slightly, wagging her finger.

"Oh, you don't have to worry, it'll be up to Zabuza-sama if you're going to meet your end... either that or you'll freeze to death before he shows up." The girl stated in a manner as cold as the ice that was chilling Gai's lungs, his breathing becoming ragged. "Now then... I'll just take my leave. Thank you again, sir." The girl said as she began to walk off, chuckling to herself as she passed through the forest line. As soon as his trapper was gone, Gai immediately began to struggle against his ice prison, tensing and flexing his muscles as he tried to break the ice.

"This is one of those times where I wish that my 'Flames of Youth' weren't just a metaphor..." Gai muttered aloud as he continued his struggling... the ice prison slowly draining his body of strength as it seemed to chill his very bones...

- Back at the Pass -

The rest of the group sat and awaited Gai's return from the forest. Kakashi stood in front of the Genin and their client, his eyes trained on his surroundings, somewhat comforted in the knowledge that Neji's own eyes were active, able to keep watch for incoming threats. Though the Jounin wasn't exactly worried about Gai's temporary absence, certain that he could protect the group should someone attack it while the 'Green Beast of Konoha' was out looking for the source of those screams...

But there laid the source of the Copycat Ninja's current worries. The screams had dissipated a short while ago, which either meant that Gai had handled the situation and just needed time to resolve the matter... or he was in a spot of trouble, and was now too far outside of Neji's range to check upon.

'Perhaps acting nobly in this case wasn't such a grand idea...' The white-haired Jounin thought to himself, preparing to make himself a Shadow Clone to go check on Gai's status.

"Huh?" Neji's sudden arousal from his focus snapped Kakashi's attention to the Byakugan-user, Neji turning his head slightly as the veins around his eyes pulsated.

"Do you see something?" Kakashi asked Neji, whom was standing in complete surprise at what he was seeing through the Byakugan.

"Duck!"

The sudden shout snapped everyone to attention, everyone seeing Neji fall onto the ground. Rather than try to second guess the Byakugan-user, everyone followed suit, everyone either getting down onto a knee or just falling flat onto the ground all-together.

Neji's order, it seemed, was not without merit as within the minute a large zanbato cleaved the air where the group had been standing, before arching upwards to the mid-section of a tree. The sword stuck itself into the trunk of the large tree, and a second later a very tall individual appeared on the handle of the tree. Kakashi immediately recognized this individual: Zabuza Momochi, a Missing-Nin from the Mist Village.

"Well, well, well." Zabuza said in a slow, contemplative tone, bandages around the lower half of his face keeping the rising group from taking account of his expression. "Have to admit... even without the little Hyuga-rat down there, I didn't think this little trick was going to work." A series of low chuckles accompanied this statement, as the giant of a man jumped from the handle of his blade, grasping it on his way down.

As soon as his weight hit the blade, and with a small twist of his arm, the blade was wrenched free from the tree trunk, Zabuza landing on the ground with an audible 'thud', his sword carefully held in his hand.

"Still... the looks on your faces... quite worth the energy spent." It was only when he pointed it out that the Genin, and Tazuna, realized that they had been gawking at the giant of a man the entire time, their eyes wide open and their mouths somewhat unhinged as they witnessed this behemoth of a man, and his giant sword, arrive on the scene.

"'Well, well, well'-" Kakashi imitating Zabuza's earlier tone and words as he stood in front of his charges. "You must be Zabuza Momochi..." The scarecrow nin's voice lowered considerably, its tone steeling itself as he specifically stood between Zabuza and his charges. "I suppose my fellow Jounin's absence is somehow your doing?" Kakashi inquired, Team Gai's expression immediately turning from fear of the man to extreme worry... especially as Zabuza merely cackled under his breath.

"Believe me Kakashi Hatake... the freak in green you were traveling with is being taken care of... if he hasn't been already." The former Mist-Nin stated, his bandages rising slightly to indicate a grin underneath them, Kakashi's visible eye narrowing greatly as Zabuza spoke, reaching up for the lowered end of his headband.

"Since you apparently went through extra trouble to get rid of him, and know my name, you must know my reputation..." Kakashi said in a somewhat venomous tone, raising the headband to reveal his closed left eye, a scar cutting right above it. "Which means you know just how many ways I can kill you for even trying to 'take care of him'." Kakashi's eye opened to reveal a red iris, with three tomoe surrounding the pupil.

"Indeed... it's said that you've copied over one thousand jutsu with that Sharingan eye of yours..." Zabuza said, almost sounding excited by the prospect, as both Neji and Sasuke's eyes widened upon hearing that Kakashi possessed a Sharingan. Both Genin were well versed in the nature of the Sharingan's abilities, Neji thanks to the early lessons taught to him due to the Uchiha's... 'equal' position of power in Konoha to the Hyuga previously, and Sasuke by the simple virtue of being an Uchiha. The possibilities of what could go on in this fight were endless... neither of them were exactly thrilled to see the eye in action.

The others, while also surprised, having heard about the doujutsu during the Academy, were currently between somewhat and very concerned over their own fate and, for Lee and Tenten especially, the fate of Gai.

Naruto's own 'flight-or-fight' instincts were currently running at full speed. It didn't take long for Naruto to realize that this Zabuza guy was infamous, if Kakashi knew his name... and if Kakashi was whipping out some weird eye that Naruto hadn't seen him use before in order to deal with him... well, for the Street Fox's instincts that just spelled all sorts of trouble.

"All of you, stay away from the fight and stay with Tazuna." Kakashi said rather suddenly, as if sensing the apprehension in all of them. "I promise you all, I'll protect you with my life..." The Hatake's cool voice stated, turning his head slightly, a small, if worried, smile on his face. "I promise you all, as a comrade, that no more lives will be put at risk." With that, the Copy-Nin turned his head back forward, staring over at Zabuza.

"Touching sentiment, too bad it's all about to be meaningless here in a few minutes." The towering Jounin moved to form a ram seal with his hands, his chakra focusing just as a thick cloud of mist rolled on in. Kakashi pulled out a kunai, readying himself for the upcoming battle. "Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu." The words slowly melted away amidst the mist as opaque clouds settled in, obscuring more and more of the Konoha-Nins' vision.

"Neji, can you see him?" Kakashi called back to the group, charging up a large amount of his own chakra in order to clear the field of vision in his immediate area. Though it helped, it didn't quite allow him to see Zabuza, yet. Neji's eyes strained themselves as he focused his Byakugan's vision, nodding after a few moments.

"He's heavily infused this mist with chakra, so my vision is being a little disrupted... but I can make out his tenketsu through it. He's standing right where we last saw him." Neji instructed Kakashi, the Jounin nodding in appreciation just as the reverberations of Zabuza's laughter filled the mist, the sound seemingly coming from all directions.

"Aaahh... now that's cheating, Kakashi. Peaking through my mist to see what I'm doing..." The Mist-Nin's voice called out, a low cackle piercing through the fog. "Still… only a minor setback!" Zabuza's voice called out, Neji's eyes widening.

"Kakashi, he's charging you!" The Byakugan-user called out, Kakashi readying himself as Zabuza burst forth from the fog, sword back over his head. Kakashi's eyes widened as he jumped back, the giant sword slamming into the ground where Kakashi stood with enough force to break the surface several feet around it.

Carrying the momentum forward, Zabuza wrenched the sword free from the ground, swinging the blade from behind him to horizontally slice Kakashi at the chest. The silver haired Jounin dodged once more, bringing up a kunai to somewhat scrape against the edge of the sword, using the metal-on-metal to push off away from the slash.

Stomping his foot into the ground, Zabuza pivoted on the appendage to continue the swing 'round again. Kakashi this time ducked below the swing, his grip on the kunai too loose from the previous strike to use it to block again. Zabuza's brow furrowed as he clamped both hands on the handle of his sword, bringing up for another downward swing in order to take advantage of Kakashi's poor position.

The Konoha Jounin immediately pitched to the side, rolling away from Zabuza's slash. Stopping his roll as soon as Zabuza embedded his blade into the ground, Kakashi kicked off his feet, delivering a strong kick to Zabuza's exposed side. Zabuza leered for a second and, with a grunt, pulled his sword out of the ground and jumped back into the mist.

"He's attempting to flank your right Kakashi!" Neji called out without a prompt, Kakashi turning to intercept Zabuza's move, tossing out his kunai to his right. When Zabuza attempted to emerge from the mist, he was forced to bring his sword to his front to block the weapon. Kakashi prepared another kunai to take advantage of Zabuza's guard, but was put off when he saw the outline of a smirk in Zabuza's bandages.

As if Kakashi's misgiving was the cue, another Zabuza emerged from the mist immediately behind him, the Konoha Jounin's eye widening in shock as the second Zabuza reared his sword back, ready to cut Kakashi in-half at the waist. Kakashi ducked below the horizontal slash, immediately jamming his elbow into the new Zabuza's gut. The force of the blow stunned the copy of the Mist-Nin, allowing Kakashi to reach up and, with a great amount of effort, toss it over his shoulder towards the original Zabuza.

Zabuza merely cut clean through the copy of himself with extreme ease, the remains of the second Momochi bursting into water seconds afterwards.

'A water clone?' Kakashi's bewildered thought rang through his mind, watching as Zabuza merely melted back into the mist.

"Neji, where were you on the position of that clone?" The Jounin worriedly called out to the young Genin, Neji's expression quickly moving between worry and confusion as continued to glance around.

"I-I... I don't know, I didn't see it coming at all." Neji called out to Kakashi, whom seemed just about ready to shout at the Hyuga. However, a quick series of thoughts crossed Kakashi's mind, thoughts that forced him to stop and think.

'Neji said this mist was obscuring his vision, that he was only able to see Zabuza's tenketsu. That's been the only way for him to see Zabuza coming. Water Clones... they don't have tenketsu. That's how the Hyuga are able to tell them apart from the real deal: the Water Clone is just a huge mass of water with heavy amounts of chakra within it.'

'If Zabuza's mist has been able to obscure him to the point where only his tenketsu are visible... then Neji wouldn't be able to see the water outlining the chakra... and without tenketsu to pinpoint them, those clones are completely invisible inside of Zabuza's mist-' The Sharingan possessing Jounin's eyes widened in a realization. '-and that last move was just a ploy to try and see if it worked, and we just loudly announced the answer.'

"Listen to me!" Kakashi immediately yelled, his head swinging over to look at the Genin. "Neji, you stand right beside Tazuna and keep an eye out for the real Zabuza, the rest of you surround them in a circle and keep scanning the mist for any signs of movement! You see anything, you yell for me!" The orders were immediately acted upon, the Genin quickly moving into position as ordered by Kakashi.

'Good. Neji's blind to any Water Clones in the mist, but still can keep tabs on Zabuza for me. In the center of the circle he can help me out, while not facing the threat of being snuck up on... the others should be able to handle keeping an eye out for Zabuza.' Kakashi thought to himself, Neji going back to his role upon the completion of the formation.

"Kakashi, Zabuza is attempting to sneak up on your left flank." Neji called out, an annoyed grunt tearing through the mist.

"You know Hatake, I'm just about sick and tired of that Hyuga brat picking me out from the mist." Zabuza stated in a firm manner, Neji's eyes widening as his Byakugan registered something.

"Kakashi! He's making a break for us!" Neji's update spurred Kakashi into action, the Jounin sprinting towards the Genin. Zabuza burst forth from the mist, a direct charge aimed at the Genin, his sword ready to cleave many of them in two. With a quick snap of his wrist Kakashi hurled his kunai at Zabuza, the Mist-Nin slowed for a second in an attempt to block the projectile.

That second was all Kakashi required as he stood in between Zabuza and the rest of the group, the Copy-Nin throwing a kick towards the zanbato wielding Mist-Nin while he pulled out one more kunai. Zabuza jumped back to avoid the kick, Kakashi taking a step-forward in order to distance himself slightly from the Genin, should Zabuza continue his offensive.

A smirk that stretched the Mist-Nin's bandages tipped Kakashi off to something foul, the Sharingan user suddenly finding himself with a Water Clone of Zabuza bursting from the mist behind him. Kakashi barely had time to contort his body to duck around the attempted swing of the clone before burying his kunai into the Zabuza clone's side, dispelling it.

Zabuza was far from done, as the Mist-Nin once again charged after Kakashi. The silver-haired Jounin put up a defense, only to find himself stunned when Zabuza suddenly leaped up and above him... and was even more surprised when he found himself nearly face-to-face with yet another Water Clone immediately afterward. The horizontal swing forced Kakashi's already contorted position further downward, Kakashi's knee hitting the ground as he just barely avoided losing his head, the very tips of his hair sliced clean from the top.

Kakashi forced the kunai into the open torso of the Water Clone, dispelling it quickly in an attempt to catch the real Zabuza. Kakashi's effort was for naught, however, as by the time he destroyed the clone Zabuza had already landed behind him, his leg reared back.

"Got ya!" Zabuza called out as he swung his leg forward, catching Kakashi right under his chin. The Copy-Nin was sent flying through the air, the gathered Genin looking on in shock at the display. It had all taken place over the course of a few seconds and the gathered group found it extremely difficult to all catch with their eyes. Zabuza suddenly disappeared from their sight, the mist beginning to fade slightly as a lake began to appear at the edge of their visions.

Kakashi hit the surface of the lake like a stone, a large splash bursting forth from the body of water as the Jounin sank beneath its depths. The surface of the water bubbled and rippled as Kakashi made his way back to the surface. Hacking up water into his mask, Kakashi looked around the lake, his eyes ablaze with sudden panic as he realized that he was right in the middle of Zabuza's preferred turf.

"I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed." Zabuza's voice appeared right beside Kakashi, the Copy-Nin's surprise escalating as the water around him began to surround him in the shape of an orb.

'Water Prison Jutsu...' Kakashi thought despondently, the jutsu completely trapping him within a matter of seconds. The water was highly dense, making it difficult to move, but Kakashi managed to turn his head to the left to see his captor, Zabuza, standing with his left hand thrust into the orb... with another Zabuza standing very, very closely.

"I was hoping that a little mist and a few Water Clones wouldn't be enough to take you down... I was expecting a fight a little more worthy of your reputation..." The free-handed Zabuza said in a very disappointed tone, shrugging as he began making his way to the shore. "Oh well... looks like I'm just going to have to enjoy tearing your little cadre of fresh meat to shreds." The ex-Mist ninja stated sadistically, bringing his hands up to form a series of seals.

Kakashi's panic rose even more when two more Water Clones appeared beside the free Zabuza.

'Shit! He's just using a clone to hold me, he's the real deal!" The masked-Jounin's panic wasn't all too unwarranted. After all, he vaguely questioned whether or not the Genin would be able to handle just one Water Clone at 1/10th of Zabuza's strength... but to face the real Zabuza, backed up by two extra clones...

"You all need to get out of here, now!" Kakashi attempted to scream through his watery prison, his voice somewhat distorted as it made its way through the jutsu. "Take Tazuna and run!" The order was immediately received by the Genin, the group seemingly chomping at the bit in order to get a move on. However, even as the other Genin were making their way to run for it, Naruto stood, seemingly frozen in place, his eyes awash in a mixture of fear, uncertainty and frustration.

"Naruto! Get moving, that's an order!" The trapped Jounin roared, the blond Genin's fists clinching as he spoke in a low growl.

"Kakashi-sensei... you know me... if I thought that running would help... I would've been the first one out of here!" The former street urchin said in what could be described as a defeated tone, the rest of the group looking upon the blond with dumbfounded expressions as Naruto continued. "I mean... just look at this guy! He kept you on the defensive the entire time... he's fast, way faster than us... we'd just die tired if we tried to run." The other Genin became rather downtrodden as they heard the blond speak, Kakashi himself sighing as he realized the validity of Naruto's statement.

"Well, what do we have here? Looks like there is a smart one out of the whole flock." Zabuza stated with a sadistic chuckle, he and his clones made it ashore. "How about this, for being such good sports about your demise, I'll go ahead and make this quick and, somewhat, painless." The former Mist-Nin laughed aloud as he made this gesture, his laughter cut short when he took a good look on the blond's face... finding, rather than hopelessness and fear as he was expecting, a frustrated and rather angry look written across his features.

"Fuck that!" The sudden change in tone surprised the group once again, Naruto shaking his head around. "Do you know what I've done just to get to this point? The shit I've had to go through just to bring myself to this place! I'm not about to have come this far, gotten through so many obstacles to get what I want out of life, just to have it all ended by some freak who bandages himself up like some kind of burn victim!" The blond's statement caused Zabuza's eyes to narrow noticeably, a hint of a sneer underneath his bandages.

"There's too much left that I want to do, that I need to do, and if I can't run to survive then I'll find another way!" Naruto's declaration struck a chord with many in the group, each Genin's own aspirations and desires flashing through their minds. It was a feeble attempt, in all likelihood. The odds were certainly stacked against them... but if that wasn't going to stop the normally evasive blond, it wasn't going to stop the rest of them.

The Genin stood firmly beside Naruto, though there were certainly some looks of uncertainty accompanying the courage they were all summoning in order to face down the highly dangerous Jounin in front of them.

"Well now, isn't that just precious-" Zabuza droned, rolling his eyes slightly as he and his clones began walking forward, their zanbato readied. "-but you're still going to die."

"We'll see about that..." Naruto muttered to himself, his mind flying through ways to slow Zabuza down, even if only for a short time. The blond examined what skills were available to him and, not wishing to just waste what weapons and supplies he had, and knowing that the rather insignificant Gust Jutsu wouldn't do much to the brute in front of him, eventually settled on a move he hadn't used too often. Naruto quickly bent down onto one knee, bringing his hands together to form a cross seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A small explosion of smoke accompanied the name of the jutsu, the wisps or gray and white clouds quickly blowing over to reveal nine additional Naruto clones, each kneeling in the same position as the original. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" All ten of the blonds screamed the name of the technique at once, a massive eruption of smoke bursting forth this second time. As the smoke slowly began to die down hordes upon hordes of Naruto clones rushed forth out of the smoke, each having a kunai apiece as they charged Zabuza.

"Impressive, but futile..." The former Mist-Nin muttered to himself as both he and his two Water Clones began slicing through the dashing Shadow Clones. With each swing from each Zabuza Clone, scores of clones of the blond Genin were immediately reduced to nothing more than a puff of smoke. However, as Zabuza was suddenly very quick to see, the clones just kept on coming, with each new horde coming as quickly as the last.

As the smoke gave way it became apparent that the nine Naruto clones, plus the original, were continually producing more and more Shadow Clones, the original Naruto slowly craning his neck back to look at the group.

"As much chakra as I have I can't keep this up forever! We need a plan, right now!" Naruto shouted back at the group, the rest of the group nodding... though they all also appeared dumbfounded.

"You mean you gave that speech without even having a single idea?" Sasuke asked, expressing everyone's befuddlement, Naruto just sweat dropping as he began to speak back sarcastically.

"Oh I'm sorry! I only just found out a way to keep the bandages psychopath from murdering us all immediately! Do I have to think of everything?" The blond screamed back at the Uchiha, Sakura quickly jumping into the fight to keep it from continuing.

"Point taken, you're busy. We need to find some kind of way to beat Zabuza between just the six of us..." Sakura stated, the group sweat dropping at the monumental size of the task.

"Naruto-san's clones appear to be distracting Zabuza quite a bit, we could rush in with them and try to deliver a devastating assault of our own." Lee suddenly suggested, Tenten shaking her head at her teammate's idea.

"No good: Naruto's own clones are barely able to do more than just slow them down. If we just bull-rush our way in we'll just end up being tossed on the chopping block like the clones." The brown-haired kunoichi stated, the rest of the Genin nodding as Sakura spoke up again.

"Then we need to find a way to coordinate an attack... maybe try to find a way to team up on each of them and try to take them out that way?" Sakura suggested, Sasuke shaking his head.

"The two Water Clones might be easy enough... but I doubt the real Zabuza could be taken down, even with our combined efforts." The Uchiha spoke sternly, his gears twisting and turning as Tenten stepped in again.

"Then we just need to take him out from a distance, hit him with a few kunai and shuriken while he's busy dealing with the clones." Tenten stated, Lee shaking his head as he pointed to the foray of clones being mercilessly slaughtered by Zabuza.

"Naruto's Shadow Clones are only just keeping them from moving forward. Given how fast we saw him able to move, even with that sword, blocking a few of our kunai would be easy..." Lee's statement was received by a general nod from the group, Naruto sighing as he tried to look back over his shoulder at the one silent member of the group.

"Yo, Neji, not to bug you or anything, but you've been a little silent! Really could use as much input as possible!" The blond's statement turned all the Genin's attention to the Hyuga, whose eyes were narrowed, Byakugan activated, as his hand tapped his chin.

"... We're going about this the wrong way... Zabuza's shown himself to be extremely skilled, the real him alone would be enough to end all of us... so we shouldn't be approaching this problem trying to think of a way to beat him ourselves..." Neji muttered to himself, his lips slowly turning up into a smirk, the Genin's mental clockwork beginning to turn inside his head. "Everyone, huddle up and listen close, we're only going to have one shot at this."

In the space of a few minutes, while Zabuza continued to hack away at what little resistance the Genin had to offer up, the group of assembled fresh ninja listened to Neji's idea, each member of the group throwing in or taking out something in order to solidify it. Kakashi's lessons of teamwork and the, if somewhat limited, experience of Team Gai proved to make the process cohesive, the Genin nodding in agreement at their haphazard plan.

"Alright then, everyone, get set in your positions... Naruto, send one last big wave at him." Neji called out, Naruto nodding as he gave a small smirk.

"I'd ask who died and made you team leader, but I'm not in a position to argue." The blond joked slightly, as the waves of Shadow Clones began to let up, as Naruto and the nine other clones beside him began to gather up large amounts of their remaining chakra. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" With one last explosion of smoke a wave of clones charge Zabuza and his Water Clones en-mass, the former Mist-Nin merely batting them away like he and his clones had done the rest.

As the last of the clones fell Zabuza looked forward to meet the gaze of the Konoha Genin, raising an eyebrow as he saw the attempted resistance organized against him. Tazuna stood at the back of the group, with the nine previous Naruto clones standing in front of him, each of them with a handful of kunai and shuriken readied. In front of the clones stood Sakura and Tenten, with the older kunoichi outfitted with quite a few extra weapons pouches, one pouch tied to each arm and leg. The four boys stood in front of the two kunoichi, Naruto with two kunai readied in his hands, and Lee, Sasuke and Neji standing in position for Taijutsu, their legs bare of weapons pouches.

"Tenten, Sakura, clones!" Neji called out, his Byakugan blaring. "The one in the center is still the true Zabuza, concentrate on him!" The Mist-Nin found himself confused by the sudden order from the Genin, caught off guard when, seconds later, the specified Genin all jumped into the air. Tenten's hands were immediately flying to and fro, from pouch to pouch, throwing whatever weapons were inside of them right at Zabuza. Tenten's arsenal was quickly joined by weapons being thrown by the clones and Sakura, Zabuza immediately bringing his sword in front of him in order to guard from the sudden barrage of weaponry.

The weapons would scrape and cut anywhere on his body that he exposed, Zabuza grumbling in annoyance as he realized that the Genin were trying to pin him down.

"You two! Don't just stand around, kill the little bastards." Zabuza ordered his clones, not wishing to take the risk of directly exposing himself to the concentrated assault of the weapon-throwing Genin. The two clones nodded and immediately ran for the group, their zanbato prepared as the four boys nodded.

"Lee, Sasuke, go right, Naruto and I will go left." With three nods of affirmation, the four Genin split themselves into two groups, each going for their 'assigned' Zabuza. Naruto ran ahead of Neji, his grip tightening on his kunai, as he witnessed the bandages underneath the Water Clone move to hint a smirk.

"Too easy runt..." Zabuza said in a venomous tone, raising his sword above his head in order to cleave Naruto down the middle. Naruto sneered at the clone as without warning Naruto began to slide. Twirling his kunai to face the sharp ends outward, the blond unceremoniously jammed the two kunai into the Water Clone's Achilles' Tendon, pulling all the way through the tendons as he slid underneath the clone. A piercing scream followed the action, as the Water Clone stumbled forward, badly losing its footing and dropping the zanbato to its side.

'Wide open.' Neji thought to himself, the veins leading to his eyes pulsing as he charge his palm with chakra, charging forward at the Water Clone. Without hesitation, Neji slammed the palm of his hand into the Water Clone's chest, the clone of Zabuza making a choking noise as the chakra tore through it, before dispersing into a puddle of water.

Simultaneously Lee found himself right on top of the opposing Water Clone. Lee was rushing at Zabuza, the Gai-sensei look-a-like letting out a quick yell as clone merely pulled back his sword. For a moment, there seemed to be a distinct glint in Lee's eyes, a new fire unleashed in his gaze that the clone could garner from Lee's stare.

By the time he noticed the glint, it was too late.

"AAAAAH!" In the blink of an eye, Lee seemed to just flash through the space separating him from the clone, his leg reared back as the blaze burned even brighter. With a nearly unseen sweep, Lee's leg slammed into the side of the Water Clone's head, the sound of metal bashing against meat, strangely, resounding as Lee slammed his shin into the clone's skull.

As the clone dispersed into a pile of water, Lee carried through the motion of his kick, planing his foot firmly on the ground as he found himself facing Sasuke, whom had been coming up behind the spandex wearing Genin.

"Alright Sasuke, go!" Lee shouted as he cupped his hands, Sasuke jumping up into Lee's grasp as the miniature Green Beast hurled Sasuke straight up into the air, the young Uchiha flying through seals on his way up. As soon as this task was completed Lee, Neji and Naruto turned their attention to the remaining, true Zabuza, whom found the relentless storm of kunai and shuriken attempting to pierce through him dying off just as the three boys began making a quick rush on him.

It didn't take long for the esteemed Jounin to figure out that he had just been played by these kids. He hadn't been their target after all. They were just getting rid of the clones and distracting him so that they could have a clear shot at the Water Clone handling the Water Prison. Now they were just throwing their last-ditch effort to by the Uchiha enough time to finish whatever jutsu he was concocting... and if he didn't hurry, he'd soon find himself having to deal with Kakashi, after having spent even more chakra on the extra clones.

With a bestial roar, Zabuza deflected one last round of kunai and shuriken with the brunt of his zanbato, before hurling the immense weapons towards the airborne clones and kunoichi. In a panic, the Shadow Clone grabbed Tenten and Sakura, hurrying their descent towards the ground just as the zanbato sliced clean through the group of clones in the air. With the support gone, Zabuza turned his gaze to the Genin rushing him, ready to remind them just why they didn't want to directly rush him in the first place.

Even Lee's blinding speed in dealing with the previous clone was outmatched by the full-force of the real Zabuza. The former Mist-Nin quickly latched onto Lee's head, the Genin's skull firmly in his grasp, quickly turning the Genin into a human club. With the swing of his arm, Zabuza swung Lee towards Neji and Naruto, the Byakugan wielding Genin ducking, having seen the movement coming, while Naruto ended up being hit by Lee like a sledgehammer, the two Genin flying into a nearby tree.

Even the Hyuga's quick movement to dodge his weaponized teammate only delayed the inevitable, with Neji quickly finding himself struck across the face with a mighty kick that propelled him backwards, head over heels, straight on into the crumpled pile that was Lee and Naruto.

"Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!"

"Damn it!" Zabuza screamed, looking up to see the Uchiha bringing his fingers to his lips, the black-haired Genin preparing to fire off a jutsu.

'He's going to have that technique going before I can get up there... damn that little green freak!' Zabuza's rage was burning inside of him as he began running straight for the lake where his clone was, just as fireball began to descend towards the clone on the lake, both its eyes and the eyes of the of it and captive wide as the jutsu made its way towards them. Zabuza stepped out onto the lake, standing in between the clone and the fireball, desperately going through hand seals, trying to create a wall of water, or just blast the ball of flame with a geyser, something to stop it from releasing Kakashi.

The Missing-Nin quickly learned that while he was indeed fast, the giant, flaming ball of destruction was much faster.

The fire jutsu quickly produced a huge plume of steam, water rapidly boiling on the surface of the lake, as the fireball struck the surface. The Genin heard the sound of a body falling down into the lake, quickly assuming that Kakashi had been successfully released. As Sasuke landed, he looked out into the steam, noticing the lack of movement within the swirling water vapors.

"Hey, maybe we got lucky and the fireball ended up burning him up..." Tenten called out from hers and Sakura's location, the Uchiha's gaze narrowing towards the steam.

It was at that moment that Zabuza decided to destroy Tenten's wishful thinking. With a guttural shout Zabuza burst forth from the steam, his body partially burnt and his clothes and bandages singed. Sasuke's eyes widened as Zabuza charged right at him, the Mist-Nin easily batting the Uchiha away from his path, knocking the black-haired Genin into the tree.

The Genin had been successful in releasing Kakashi, so Zabuza knew that meant it would take no time at all for the Sharingan-user to be up out of the lake and back on top of him again. He'd have to skip breaking the Genin in half and just settle for snapping Tazuna in two, lest he not get a good chance at finishing the job again. With another shout Zabuza continued to rush forth towards Tazuna, finding only Tenten and Sakura in his path.

The two kunoichi tried to stand their ground, shaking somewhat as the monstrous Jounin didn't even slow his run as he approached them. Zabuza unceremoniously grabbed both young girls by their heads and slammed the two together, tossing them to the ground when he was finished with them. Now there was absolutely nothing standing between himself and Tazuna, the shipwright shaking in his sandals as he looked on at the bandaged Mist-Nin. Zabuza ran forward, ready to snap Tazuna in twain...

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!"

"Wha-" Zabuza's single minded focus on Tazuna proved to be quite unwise, as the sudden foot to the face would prove. The former Mist-Nin was sent straight backwards, hitting the surface of the lake several times, skipping over it with each consecutive hit against the surface. It was only after Zabuza was sent flying through the air that a mess of silver hair emerged from the lake. Kakashi grabbing onto the surface of the lake and bringing himself up from its depths, breathing deeply as he shook the water out of his hair.

The masked Jounin looked up from his position on the lake, releasing a deep sigh of relief as he saw whom it was that had jumped in to save Tazuna. Gai stood in front of a completely stunned Tazuna, the green spandex wearing Jounin standing in his traditional Taijutsu stance, looking on at where he had propelled Zabuza. Little wisps of steam and mist were rising off of Gai, the Jounin's skin noticeably flushed in some areas.

"What took you so long? Didn't think you, the youthful Maito Gai, would have taken so long." Kakashi said in a light tone, the Jounin's relief allowing him to relax a tad as Gai returned with a small smile.

"Well my youthful rival, let's just say that for a while I was as cool as you normally are." The pun was lost on Kakashi, whom merely raised his eyebrow at his fellow Jounin's statement. The smile on Gai's face fell soon afterwards, as he looked onto the Genin, all of whom were laying either unconscious or severely dazed by Zabuza's attacks. "I take it things didn't go so well here..." Gai slowly walked towards Kakashi as he said this, the silver-haired Jounin looking over the Genin himself... a small smile forming underneath his mask.

"It was rough to be sure... but they handled it even better than I would've thought... they did good." Gai's smile returned at this, growing even larger as he heard the low moans coming from each of the Genin... they were going to be badly bruised and a tad beaten to be sure... but they would be fine in time.

"I'd expect no less from the students of youthful individuals like you and I Kakashi." The Taijutsu master said, relief and pride equally evident in his tone, as Kakashi just chuckled and nodded.

"I suppose I'll agree with you there." Kakashi turned to look across the surface of the lake as he spoke, Gai joining him at his side as they witnessed Zabuza recovering from Gai's mighty kick. "The kids have done their fair share and more... how about we do our job and send this psycho to the bottom of the lake." The silver-haired Jounin spoke while cracking his knuckles, Gai nodding in affirmation as he rolled his shoulders.

"I couldn't agree more Kakashi. This most un-youthful fiend used underhanded means in order to separate us, trap me, and then harmed our most passionate students." Gai slowly built up the tone of his voice, the fire blazing in his eyes as he spoke. "In the name of Springtime Youth, we must defeat this vile ninja!" The youthful Jounin's declaration was met with a small sigh from Kakashi, the silver-haired Jounin rolling his eyes slightly as he shook his head.

"You had me right up until the big speech Gai..." Kakashi muttered, before slipping down into his own stance, both Konoha Jounin standing firmly as they stared Zabuza down, the former Mist-Nin sneering underneath his bandages as he looked upon his two enemies, a very unsettling season working its way into the bandaged ninja's stomach...

This wasn't going to end well.

End of Chapter R&R

Omake 1 (OR, puns I could've used but didn't)

The masked Jounin looked up from his position on the lake, releasing a deep sigh of relief as he saw whom it was that had jumped in to save Tazuna. Gai stood in front of a completely stunned Tazuna, the green spandex wearing Jounin standing in his traditional Taijutsu stance, looking on at where he had propelled Zabuza. Little wisps of steam and mist were rising off of Gai, the Jounin's skin noticeably flushed in some areas.

"What took you so long? Didn't think you, the youthful Maito Gai, would have taken so long." Kakashi said in a light tone, the Jounin's relief allowing him to relax a tad as Gai returned with a small smile.

"I was on ice for a little while.

Or

"Chill out Kakashi."

Or

"I was just trying to play it cool."

And Finally

"I WAS FROZEN TODAY!"

You're Welcome.

Omake 2 (Summoning Mishaps)

'Water Prison Jutsu...' Kakashi thought despondently, the jutsu completely trapping him within a matter of seconds. The water was highly dense, making it difficult to move, but Kakashi managed to turn his head to the left to see his captor, Zabuza, standing with his left hand thrust into the orb... with another Zabuza standing very, very closely.

"I was hoping that a little mist and a few Water Clones wouldn't be enough to take you down... I was expecting a fight a little more worthy of your reputation..." The free-handed Zabuza said in a very disappointed tone, shrugging as he began making his way to the shore. "Oh well... looks like I'm just going to have to enjoy tearing your little cadre of fresh meat to shreds." The ex-Mist ninja stated sadistically, bringing his hands up to form a series of seals.

Kakashi's panic rose even more when two more Water Clones appeared beside the free Zabuza. Just as Kakashi was about to scream for the Genin to get away, Gai suddenly jumped into the clearing, the spandex-clad Jounin standing proudly as the rest of the assembled group sighed in relief, Zabuza sneering underneath his bandages.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank Kami you're here Gai..." Kakashi said from his water prison, Gai nodding enthusiastically as he pumped his fist into the air.

"Indeed I am my youthful rival! And now that I have arrived it is time for me to teach this disgusting vagabond a lesson he won't soon forget!" Gai proudly declared, his gaze alight with passion as Zabuza sweat dropped, suddenly quite nervous about his fate. "By summoning my turtle to take care of him!"

This part of the declaration immediately sent the gather Konoha-nin face first into the ground.

"WHAT? You could just effortlessly pound his ass into the ground, and you're going to summon that useless thing?" Kakashi screamed from the prison, Gai shaking his head and 'tut tut'ing Kakashi's demeanor.

"Now, now Kakashi there's no need for us to get so upset. Besides, what could possibly go wrong?" With a shrug and a smile Gai set about biting his finger and going through a series of seals, Kakashi slapping his face within his watery prison as Gai slammed his hand into the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!" A large plume of smoke enveloped the clearing as Gai finished his summoning, the spandex-clad Jounin standing tall as he awaited the arrival of his summon... only to be completely flummoxed when he saw what awaited him instead.

Standing in the center of the clearing, instead of Gai's giant, red turtle, were four bipedal turtles, their height approximately reaching Gai's chest. Adorned on the turtles were headbands and belts, the colors of these pieces of cloth being blue, red, purple and orange respectively. The buckle of the belts were adorned with single capital letters; L, R, D and M. These turtles were also armed, a pair of katana, a pair of sai, a bo staff and a set of nunchaku in the hands of the strange turtles.

The four bipedal turtles noticed the strange and surprised looks they were receiving from the rest of the group, the orange clad turtle being the first to speak up.

"Like, you were expecting somebody else?" The orange turtle inquired, Gai nodding slowly.

"Well... yes... I was expecting my large, talking ninja turtle..." Gai said in almost a whimper, the red clad turtle walking up to him with a bit of a smirk.

"Now chumly, if one of us ain't your large, talking ninja turtle, I don't know who would be." The red turtle's statement was followed up by a series of laughs from his fellow turtles, Gai just blinking as the turtles turned to face Zabuza, whom just pointed at the four amphibians.

"... Who the hell are you freaks?" The former Mist-nin asked with a severe amount of confusion, the turtles all just smiling as they each stepped forward to present their name.

"I'm Leonardo."

"Raphael."

"Donatello."

"And Michelangelo!"

"And I'm guessing we're here to teach you a lesson." Leonardo spoke up as his fellow brothers ended their introductions, Zabuza just sneering at the turtles as he shook his head.

"Please, what can four turtle freaks do to the great Zabuza Momochi?" The former Mist-Nin said with pride as he and his Water Clones ran towards the turtles, the four brothers smiling wildly as they jumped forward to meet Zabuza and his clones head on.

"You know gauze-breath." Donatello began, ending up beside the Water Clone to Zabuza's left. "We'd hate to see you go, so how about you make like a twig..." The purple-clad ninja turtle said as he ducked underneath the clone's attack, quickly swinging his staff up into the body of the clone, sending it up into the tree branches. "And stick around." Just as Donatello finished his quip, the clone dispersed into a puddle of water, causing him to shrug. "Or 'leaf' if that's what you want to do." The purple-clad turtle joked, inciting laughter from the Genin.

Meanwhile, Raphael was currently moving about the opposite Water Clone, quickly dodging the clone Zabuza's attempted strikes. A particularly heavy swing left the clone particularly off balance, Raphael raising both of his sai above his head, as if ready to bring them down into the clone's head. The Water Clone quickly raised the zanbato to block the move... which only caused Raphael to smirk.

"Monkey kick!"

"Wha-OOOOH!" The clone's voice notched up a few dozen octaves when Raphael unleashed the move upon him, the Water Clone cupping his groin as he fell to the ground, dispersing into a pool of water as Raphael just looked out into empty space and shrugged.

"Eh, they don't say I can be crude for nothing." Raphael addressed the empty space, causing Zabuza to momentarily stop his defense against the other turtles to look back at the red clad ninja turtle.

"... Who are you talking to?" Zabuza inquired, Raphael's smirk growing as he reared back a fist.

"Your face!" A quick punch to the face sent Zabuza stumbling back, reeling from the blow. A quick tap to the shoulder caught his attention, as Michelangelo could be seen standing in front of the former Mist-Nin. In a quick series of wrist movements, Michelangelo slapped his nunchaku across Zabuza's face, dazing Zabuza before wrapping his weapons around Zabuza's wrists.

"Hope you don't totally barf with those bandages on dude!" Michelangelo stated in a vague manner, before grabbing Zabuza by the arm and, with an amazing show of force, sent Zabuza spinning around rapidly on his heels, the seasoned Jounin screaming like a young girl as he was sent spiraling around and around. Just as everything but Zabuza's vision stopped spinning, Leonardo quickly delivered a jumping kick to the Jounin's chest, sending him stumbling backwards, falling onto his back as Donatello tripped him up with the turtle's bo staff.

Zabuza tried to steady himself, as he looked up to the four ninja turtles with a freaked out look in his eyes.

"What kind of unnatural power allows you freaks to best me, Zabuza?" The Jounin screamed out at the turtles, whom merely smiled at each other before pumping their fists into the air.

"TURTLE POWER!" The four turtle brothers proudly declared... illiciting a sweat drop from Zabuza.

"... Okay, I just walked right into that one..." Zabuza muttered to himself before promptly screaming as the turtles began to mercilessly wail on the former Mist-Nin, even causing Kakashi and Gai to wince at the level of punishment, even if some of it was somewhat... cartoonish, they were handing to Zabuza.

Before long the Water Clone imprisoning Kakashi dispersed on its own, as the four turtles stood above a badly beaten and unconscious Zabuza Momochi. As the turtles put their weapons either onto their backs or into their belts, Tazuna and the Genin rushed forward to greet the turtles, each of the Genin, even SASUKE, bright eyed and giddy thanks to the four ninja turtles. Even Kakashi was quite happy as he approached for four heroes in a half-shell, the group celebrating Zabuza's disastrous defeat.

"... Hey guys... what about my turtle?" Gai asked to no one in particular, the youthful Jounin ignored as the the group circled around the four turtles.


End file.
